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. 2022 Oct 4;11(19):5868.
doi: 10.3390/jcm11195868.

Effects of Helicobacter pylori Infection on Ghrelin and Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 Secretion in Children with Idiopathic Short Stature

Marzena Kolasa-Kicińska  1 , Renata Stawerska  1   2 , Paweł Stawerski  3 , Andrzej Kałużyński  4 , Elżbieta Czkwianianc  5 , Andrzej Lewiński  1   6
Affiliations

Effects of Helicobacter pylori Infection on Ghrelin and Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 Secretion in Children with Idiopathic Short Stature

Marzena Kolasa-Kicińska et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Background: A diagnosis of "idiopathic short stature" (ISS) in a child means that the cause of the disease has not been established, although there are certainly some unknown factors that contributed to its occurrence. Ghrelin and leptin are important in controlling food intake; ghrelin is also a growth hormone (GH) stimulator. Both enterohormones are produced in the stomach and their secretion may be affected by a Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection.

Methods: Our study included a group of 61 children (53 prepubertal and 8 peripubertal) with ISS, without any gastrointestinal tract symptoms but in whom the histopathological evaluation of stomach tissue was made during gastroscopy to diagnose H. pylori infection. In each child, fasting ghrelin, leptin and IGF-1 concentrations, and GH levels in two stimulation tests were assessed.

Results: H. pylori infection was confirmed in 24.6% of the children. Ghrelin and IGF-1 concentrations were significantly lower in H. pylori-positive than H. pylori-negative children (this was more noticeable in prepubertal subgroups), however there was not a discrepancy in regards to GH concentrations in stimulation tests, leptin levels or the nutritional state between groups.

Conclusions: Short children, infected by H. pylori seem to have lower ghrelin and IGF-1 concentrations than children without infection, this may be the reason for a worse growth rate in this subgroup.

Keywords: Helicobacter pylori; IGF-1; children; ghrelin; idiopathic short stature; leptin.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Correlations between ghrelin and leptin concentrations in the group of children with idiopathic short stature and H. pylori infection (A) and without it (B).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of the results obtained by the histopathological examination of the biopsy material taken during the endoscopy of upper GI tract with the results of serological test (antibodies against H. pylori in IgA and/or IgG class in serum) in analyzed group of ISS children (false negative and false positive results).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Putative mechanisms that may cause disturbances in ghrelin secretion as a result of H. pylori infection. EV—extracellular vesicles; GOAT—ghrelin O-acyltransferase; PPI—proton pump inhibitor.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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