H. pylori, a prevalent bacteria in humans, has been intensively studied over the past three decades to identify the characteristics responsible for instigating host immunity that results in some autoimmune diseases.32, 34 In this study, we demonstrated that disease activity and ACPA levels were significantly higher in H. pylori-infected patients with RA than in H. pylori-uninfected patients with RA, which is consistent with a recent study.13 Here, PRTN3 is linked to rheumatoid arthritis.