In this work, we define these cases based on the following criteria: absence of previous H. pylori eradication; atrophic changes on endoscopy or histologic confirmation of glandular atrophy; negative for a current H. pylori infection diagnosed in the absence of proton-pump inhibitors or antibiotics; and absence of localized corpus atrophy, positivity for autoantibodies, or characteristic histologic findings suggestive of autoimmune gastritis.
Furthermore, it has been clearly established that a CD4+ T cell response to the H/K ATPase beta-subunit, in particular, is essential for the initiation of autoimmune gastritis.