[Role of cytokines in chronic gastritis by Helicobacter pylori].

Helicobacter pylori is a curved, gram negative bacterium that inhabits only the gastric mucous membrane. Since its discovery and characterization, it has been related to the physiopathology of gastroduodenal diseases, including gastritis, peptic ulcers, gastric carcinoma and MALT lymphoma. This has resulted in numerous hypotheses that try to explain the different events that take place during the inflammation. The bacterium Settler, characterized by a marked infiltration of inflammatory cells (neutrophils, monocytes, linfocytes, etc.) which, after being activated, liberate locally various chemical mediators, which cause tissue damage. Among these, the cytokines are important mediators in this process. We have revised the literature related to the various biological functions of cytokines in tissue damage of the gastric mucosa.