Serum levels of iron parameters and IL-17 in children with Helicobacter pylori infection compared to healthy group

Helicobacter pylori is related to iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and inflammatory responses causing gastric and duodenal ulcer and carcinoma. Moreover, it leads to deficiency of factors associated with iron adsorption and transfer. In the present study, we recruited 100 children (50 infected with H. pylori and 50 controls) aged 3-14 years old (40% male and 60% female) to evaluate the effect of H. pylori on anemia and some of its related factors (i.e., total iron binding capacity [TIBC], ferritin, and transferrin) and also the amount of IL-17 expression. For the assessment of H. pylori, Euroimmune (Germany) kit was used for the ELISA test according to the instructions of manufacturer. Furthermore, for the measurement of IL-17 level, ELISA test (IBL commercial specific kit, Germany) was employed. The mean iron levels in the control and infected groups were 81.5 mg/dl and 43 mg/dl, respectively, which showed a significant difference between the two groups (P=0.007). The mean levels of transferrin in the control and infected children were 291 mg/dl and 249 mg/dl respectively, demonstrating a significant difference (P=0.008). Moreover, the ferritin levels were 64.5 ng/dl and 14 ng/dl in the control and infected groups, respectively (P=0.001). The TIBC levels were 329 mg/dl and 301 mg/dl, respectively (P=0.86). The mean levels of IL-17 in the healthy and infected children were 3.93±0.93 pg/ml and 8.887±1.46 pg/ml, respectively (P=0.002). Our findings revealed that H. pylori can play a role in anemia and induction of inflammatory responses through reducing iron-related parameters and significantly enhancing IL-17 level among the infected children compared to the healthy group.