Chemokines and Antimicrobial Peptides Have acag-Dependent Early Response to Helicobacter pylori Infection in Primary Human Gastric Epithelial Cells

Abstract

ABSTRACTHelicobacter pyloriinfection systematically causes chronic gastric inflammation that can persist asymptomatically or evolve toward more severe gastroduodenal pathologies, such as ulcer, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma, and gastric cancer. Thecagpathogenicity island (cagPAI) ofH. pyloriallows translocation of the virulence protein CagA and fragments of peptidoglycan into host cells, thereby inducing production of chemokines, cytokines, and antimicrobial peptides. In order to characterize the inflammatory response toH. pylori, a new experimental protocol for isolating and culturing primary human gastric epithelial cells was established using pieces of stomach from patients who had undergone sleeve gastrectomy. Isolated cells expressed markers indicating that they were mucin-secreting epithelial cells. Challenge of primary epithelial cells withH. pyloriB128 underscored early dose-dependent induction of expression of mRNAs of the inflammatory mediators CXCL1 to -3, CXCL5, CXCL8, CCL20, BD2, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). In AGS cells, significant expression of only CXCL5 and CXCL8 was observed following infection, suggesting that these cells were less reactive than primary epithelial cells. Infection of both cellular models withH. pyloriB128ΔcagM, acagPAI mutant, resulted in weak inflammatory-mediator mRNA induction. At 24 h after infection of primary epithelial cells withH. pylori, inflammatory-mediator production was largely due tocagPAI substrate-independent virulence factors. Thus,H. pyloricagPAI substrate appears to be involved in eliciting an epithelial response during the early phases of infection. Afterwards, other virulence factors of the bacterium take over in development of the inflammatory response. Using a relevant cellular model, this study provides new information on the modulation of inflammation duringH. pyloriinfection.