A total of 66.6% of Campylobacter pylori strains isolated from patients with peptic ulcers produced a cytotoxin active against mammalian cells in vitro, versus 30.1 % of strains isolated from patients with chronic gastritis of various degrees of severity only. This difference was statistically significant and suggests that the toxic substance could be involved in the development of peptic ulcers.

Acute-phase serum proteins were analyzed by two-dimensional electrophoresis with isoelectric focusing in 3-10 immobilized pH gradients. Most spots were identified by reference to the plasma map in the SWISS-2DPAGE database. Serum amyloid A protein spots were identified by immunoblotting with specific antiserum and by matching determined with predicted values of electrophoretic parameters. Changes in the concentrations of alpha 1-antitrypsin, leucine-rich glycoprotein, haptoglobin, serum retinol-binding protein and transthyretin were quantitated by densitometry of silver-stained gels. Electrophoretic patterns from 18 patients with bacterial diseases and 16 patients with viral diseases were compared. The incidence of serum amyloid A protein spots was 18/18 in bacterial diseases and 6/16 in viral diseases. As the the other reactants studied, variations were simultaneous in bacterial disease and tended to be staggered in viral diseases.

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