SATB1 expression in gastric mucosa in relation to Helicobacter pylori infection and family history of gastric cancer

Purpose: SATB1 protein, the altered levels of which are observed in tumour tissues, acts as a global regulator of gene expression. The aim of the study was to investigate the expression level of the SATB1 gene in gastric mucosa of dyspeptic patients in relation to the H. pylori infection, the family history of gastric cancer (FHGC), and histopathological changes. Material and methods: The study comprised 64 patients with dyspeptic symptoms. Group I - 28 control patients (10 H. pylori positive) without the FHGC. Group II - 36 patients (16 H. pylori positive) with the FHGC. The samples with normal mucosa (NM) or chronic superficial gastritis (CSG) were used for further analysis. qRT-PCR was used to determine the level of mRNA of SATB1. Results: The dominant histopathological changes in group I were NM and CSG. Specimens from group II have demonstrated an increasing frequency of atrophy (A) and intestinal metaplasia (IM). The A and IM specimens have shown increase of expression of the SATB1 and were excluded from further evaluation. In corpus samples of group II patients, the amount of SATB1 mRNA was higher than in antrum samples, regardless of H. pylori infection. The presence of bacterium resulted in the elevated SATB1 expression in corpus samples of group II patients only, while the genetic factor down-regulated SATB1 gene in the antrum samples of the H. pylori negative individuals. Conclusions: The expression of SATB1 gene correlates with histological changes and is altered by the selected environmental and hereditary factors, and the observed changes may have an impact on the development of gastric cancer.