Helicobacter pylori infection and gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue hyperplasia

The association of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection with mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) hyperplasia in gastric mucosa was investigated. The results showed that the incidence of Hp infection increased as the degree of the mucosal injury was aggravated, but the prevalence of lymphoid follicles in the mucosa with atrophic antritis was much more than in the mucosa without the atrophic and the frequency of detecting Hp and intestinal metaplasia in the mucosa with lymphoid follicles significantly increased, as compared with the mucosa without it. These findings suggest that gastric MALT hyperplasia induced by Hp infection may lead to destruction of gastric glands through hypersensitivity.