[Chronic atrophic gastritis: pathogenic mechanisms due to cellular hypersensitivity].

Chronic Atrophic Gastritis of high incidence in Helicobacter pylori infection has not been pathogenically explained yet. Helicobacter Pylori Chronic Active Superficial Gastritis has not been related to Chronic Atrophic Gastritis by some authors, who considered, until some time ago, that they both were independent lesions. In this study, we examined 42 antral or corporal gastric biopsies with Chronic Atrophic Gastritis at different stages, with histological lesions going from "deep lymphoid infiltration" in the proper gastric glands, to the replacement by fibro inflammatory tissue. With immunohystochemistry methods we have been able to prove that the lymphoid cells infiltrating the glandular part of the gastric mucous membrane are composed by CD8+(cytotoxic)T lymphocytes and by B lymphocites antibody secretors. In this study we suggest that cytotoxic T lymphocytes damage and destroy antral and corporal gastric proper glands, with further fibro inflammatory tissue replacement. Similar actions would be produced by B lymphocytes, but by secreting local antibodies against the cells from proper gastric glands.