Nat. Rev. Gastroenterol. Hepatol. doi:10.1038/nrgastro.2017.117 Figure 3 Effect of acid inhibition with PPIs on Helicobacter pylori gastritis Figure 3 | Effect of acid inhibition with PPIs on Helicobacter pylori gastritis. A shift from antrum-predominant inflammation to fundus–corpus-predominant inflammation occurs with acid inhibition via proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs). The occurrence of Helicobacter pylori gastritis varies according to H. pylori virulence and host susceptibility genes and is related to diverse clinical outcomes. Corpus-predominant gastritis is associated with a markedly higher risk of developing malignancy than antrum-predominant gastritis. PPIs alter the gastric milieu by contributing to increased IL-1β, a potent pro-inflammatory factor, and ammonia (NH4). The catalytic activity of H. pylori urease on urea leads to the formation of NH4, and PPIs could further promote the production of ammonia through the biological nitrogen cycle involving other gut bacteria. IL-1β and NH4 contribute to as well as result from the fact that H. pylori shifts from the antrum to the corpus. Consequently, H. pylori might even totally disappear from the antrum, but it increases the inflammation in the fundus–corpus. Malfertheiner, P. et al. (2017) Proton-pump inhibitors: understanding the complications and risks Nat. Rev. Gastroenterol. Hepatol. doi:10.1038/nrgastro.2017.117