Helicobacter pylori and gastric cancer

Abstract

Complex interactions between several bacterial, host genetic and environmental factors determine whether H. pylori infected individuals develop gastric carcinoma. The importance of bone marrow stem cell engraftment during human gastric neoplasia is an area requiring urgent investigation.

The CD4+ T Cell-Mediated IFN-γ Response to Helicobacter Infection Is Essential for Clearance and Determines Gastric Cancer Risk

“…At the later time points of the study (6,9, and 12 mo postinfection), bacterial colonization decreased progressively in the majority of mice (Fig. 1A).…”

“…Whereas ϳ20% of infected individuals develop symptomatic disease, the large majority remains asymptomatic despite persistent, often lifelong colonization with the bacterium. This wide diversity in colonization outcome has been attributed to strain differences (Western vs Eastern Helicobacter strains), genetically determined host susceptibility, and lifestyle factors such as nutrition and hygiene (6). However, no single universal explanation has yet been found to hold true across all populations studied, and it is likely that a combination of multiple factors determines infection outcome.…”

Role of Helicobacter pylori infection in cancer‐associated fibroblast‐induced epithelial‐mesenchymal transition in vitro

“…Recently, the direct interaction between this bacterial pathogen and fibroblasts has been proposed16 suggesting that H. pylori can interact with several components of connective tissue components including fibroblasts. The most virulent H. pylori strains have been shown to harbor the cag pathogenicity island encoding the type IV secretion system,3, 17 allowing the delivery of bacterial cytotoxins into gastric epithelial cells, inducing phenotypic alterations reminiscent of an epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) 3, 17, 18, 19…”

Tight junctions at a glance

“…adenovirus) (Evans et al, 2007;Nava et al, 2004;Walters et al, 2002). Another striking example is provided by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which causes gastric ulcers and cancer (Pritchard and Crabtree, 2006). H. pylori translocates a protein called CagA into host cells.…”