About the Authors

Yasuteru Kondo

yasuteru@ebony.plala.or.jp

Affiliation Division of Gastroenterology, Tohoku University Hospital, Sendai City, Japan

Takanobu Kato

Affiliation Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan

Osamu Kimura

Affiliation Division of Gastroenterology, Tohoku University Hospital, Sendai City, Japan

Tomoaki Iwata

Affiliation Division of Gastroenterology, Tohoku University Hospital, Sendai City, Japan

Masashi Ninomiya

Affiliation Division of Gastroenterology, Tohoku University Hospital, Sendai City, Japan

Eiji Kakazu

Affiliation Division of Gastroenterology, Tohoku University Hospital, Sendai City, Japan

Masahito Miura

Affiliation Department of Gastroenterology, South Miyagi Medical Center, Oogawara Town, Japan

Takehiro Akahane

Affiliation Department of Gastroenterology, Ishinomiki Red Cross Hospital, Ishinomaki City, Japan

Yutaka Miyazaki

Affiliation Department of Gastroenterology, Kosai Hospital, Sendai City, Japan

Tomoo Kobayashi

Affiliation Department of Gastroenterology, Rosai Hospital, Sendai City, Japan

Motoyasu Ishii

Affiliation Department of Gastroenterology, Miyagi Shakai Hoken Hopital, Sendai City, Japan

Norihiro Kisara

Affiliation Department of Gastroenterology, Miyagi Shakai Hoken Hopital, Sendai City, Japan

Kumiko Sasaki

Affiliation Department of Gastroenterology, Miyagi Shakai Hoken Hopital, Sendai City, Japan

Haruo Nakayama

Affiliation Department of Gastroenterology, Iwaki Kyoritsu Hosptal, Iwaki City, Japan

Takehiko Igarashi

Affiliation Department of Gastroenterology, Oosaki Citizen Hoptial, Oosaki City, Japan

Noriyuki Obara

Affiliation Department of Gastroenterology, Iwate Central Hospital, Morioka City, Japan

Yoshiyuki Ueno

Affiliation Department of Gastroenterology, Yamagata University School of Medicine, Yamagata City, Japan

Tatsuki Morosawa

Affiliation Division of Gastroenterology, Tohoku University Hospital, Sendai City, Japan

Tooru Shimosegawa

Affiliation Division of Gastroenterology, Tohoku University Hospital, Sendai City, Japan

Competing Interests

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: YK T. Kato OK TI MN EK MM TA YM T. Kobayashi MI NK KS HN TI NO YU TM TS. Performed the experiments: YK T. Kato OK TI MN EK MM TA YM T. Kobayashi MI NK KS HN TI NO YU TM TS. Analyzed the data: YK T. Kato OK TI MN EK MM TA YM T. Kobayashi MI NK KS HN TI NO YU TM TS. Wrote the paper: YK T. Kato OK TI MN EK MM TA YM T. Kobayashi MI NK KS HN TI NO YU TM TS. Immunological analysis: YK OK MM TA. Virological analysis: YK T. Kato MN EK.