H-pylori stimulates gastrin release from canine antral cells in primary culture

Patients chronically infected with Helicobacter pylori are known to have hypergastrinemia. Previous studies have demonstrated the stimulation of gastrin from isolated G cells by monocytes and cytokines. The aim of this study was to determine if H. pylori can directly stimulate gastrin secretion. The secretion of gastrin from canine G cells in 48-h primary cultures was investigated using either live H. pylori bacteria or various bacterial extracts from three well-characterized strains. Whole bacterial sonic extracts and water-extracted surface proteins, but not PBS extracts, from strains 43579 (CagA(+)/VacA(+)), 60190 (CagA(+)/VacA(+)), and 60190:v1 (CagA(+)/VacA(-)) significantly stimulated gastrin release. Controls demonstrated that gastrin stimulation by the sonic extracts was not due to a direct toxic effect on G; cells. We conclude that H. pylori produces a soluble factor(s), which can directly stimulate gastrin release in enriched canine G cell cultures. This stimulatory effect may play an important role in the H. pylori-associated hypergastrinemia and subsequent development of peptic ulcer disease.