Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) isoenzyme activity in the sera of patients with Helicobacter pylori infection.

Human gastric mucosa contains three classes of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) isoenzymes: I, III, and IV. Various factors have been found to influence gastric ADH activity. One of them is Helicobacter pylori infection, which is associated with gastric mucosal injury and leads to a decrease in gastric ADH activity. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of H. pylori infection on the serum activity of ADH isoenzymes. Serum samples were taken from 35 patients with H. pylori infection and from 35 healthy subjects. For measurement of class I isoenzyme activity we employed the fluorometric method, with class-specific fluorogenic substrate (4-methoxy-1-naphthaldehyde). The activities of class III and IV ADH isoenzymes were measured by the photometric method with formaldehyde and with m-nitrobenzaldehyde as substrate, respectively. Total activity of ADH was measured by a photometric method with p-nitrosodimethylaniline. The total activities of ADH and class IV isoenzyme were significantly higher in sera of patients with H. pylori infection compared to healthy subjects. The serum activity of other tested isoenzymes of ADH did not differ significantly between infected and noninfected groups. We conclude that H. pylori infection of gastric mucosa is reflected in the serum by a significant increase in class IV and total ADH activity.