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World J Clin Pediatr. Feb 8, 2016; 5(1): 82-88
Published online Feb 8, 2016. doi: 10.5409/wjcp.v5.i1.82
Current views of the relationship between Helicobacter pylori and Henoch-Schonlein purpura in children
Li-Jing Xiong, Meng Mao
Li-Jing Xiong, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Chengdu Women and Children’s Central Hospital, Chengdu 610091, Sichuan Province, China
Meng Mao, Chengdu Women and Children’s Central Hospital, Chengdu 610091, Sichuan Province, China
Meng Mao, Department of Pediatrics, West China Second University Hospital, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China
Author contributions: Xiong LJ contributed to conception and literature searching, drafting the article and revising it critically for important intellectual content; Mao M contributed to conception and revising it critically for important intellectual content, and final approval of the version to be published.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No potential conflicts of interest. No financial support.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Mao Meng, MD, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics, Chengdu Women and Children’s Central Hospital, No. 1617, Riyue Avenue, Chengdu 610091, Sichuan Province, China. dffmmao@126.com
Telephone: +86-28-61866047 Fax: +86-28-61866047
Received: July 14, 2015
Peer-review started: July 15, 2015
First decision: September 17, 2015
Revised: November 9, 2015
Accepted: November 17, 2015
Article in press: November 25, 2015
Published online: February 8, 2016
Processing time: 197 Days and 20.9 Hours
Abstract

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is one of the factors involved in the pathogenesis of various gastrointestinal diseases and may play a potential role in certain extra-intestinal diseases. H. pylori infection are mainly acquired during childhood, and it has been reported that in endemic areas of China the infection rates are extraordinarily higher in HSP children, particular those with abdominal manifestations. Furthermore, eradication therapy may ameliorate Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP) manifestations and decrease the recurrence of HSP. Therefore, results suggested that detection of H. pylori infection by appropriate method ought to be applied in HSP children. Current evidences indicate that local injury of gastric mucosa and immunological events induced by H. pylori infection are involved in the development of HSP. Increased serum IgA, cryoglobulins, C3 levels, autoimmunity, proinflammatory substances and molecular mimicry inducing immune complex and cross-reactive antibodies caused by H. pylori infection might play their roles in the course of HSP. However, there are no investigations confirming the causality between H. pylori infection and HSP, and the pathogenesis mechanism is still unclear. More bench and clinical studies need to be executed to elaborate the complex association between H. pylori and HSP.

Keywords: Helicobacter pylori; Henoch-Schonlein purpura; Children

Core tip: This is the first comprehensive review to report current clinical and bench studies focusing on the potential role of Helicobacter pylori infection in Henoch-Schonlein purpura children. We also presented the possible mechanism underlying their association and the questions need to be addressed in the future studies.