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Elevated levels of adaption in Helicobacter pylori genomes from Japan; a link to higher incidences of gastric cancer?

ABSTRACT: Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium that lives in the human stomach and is a major risk factor for gastric cancer and ulcers. H.pylori is host dependent and has been carried with human populations around the world after their departure from Africa. We wished to investigate how H.pylori has coevolved with its host during that time, focusing on strains from Japanese and European populations, given that gastric cancer incidence is high in Japanese populations, while low in European. A positive selection analysis of eight H.pylori genomes was conducted, using maximum likelihood based pairwise comparisons in order to maximize the number of strain-specific genes included in the study. Using the genic Ka/Ks ratio, comparisons of four Japanese H.pylori genomes suggests 25-34 genes under positive selection, while four European H.pylori genomes suggests 16-21 genes; few of the genes identified were in common between lineages. Of the identified genes which were annotated, 38% possessed homologs associated with pathogenicity and / or host adaptation, consistent with their involvement in a coevolutionary 'arms race' with the host. Given the efficacy of identifying host interaction factors de novo, in the absence of functionally annotated homologs our evolutionary approach may have value in identifying novel genes which H.pylori employs to interact with the human gut environment. In addition, the larger number of genes inferred as being under positive selection in Japanese strains compared to European implies a stronger overall adaptive pressure, potentially resulting from an elevated immune response which may be linked to increased inflammation, an initial stage in the development of gastric cancer.

SUBMITTER: Soto-Giron MJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4419197 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Elevated levels of adaption in Helicobacter pylori genomes from Japan; a link to higher incidences of gastric cancer?

Soto-Girón Maria Juliana MJ Ospina Oscar E OE Massey Steven Edward SE

Evolution, medicine, and public health 20150318 1

Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium that lives in the human stomach and is a major risk factor for gastric cancer and ulcers. H.pylori is host dependent and has been carried with human populations around the world after their departure from Africa. We wished to investigate how H.pylori has coevolved with its host during that time, focusing on strains from Japanese and European populations, given that gastric cancer incidence is high in Japanese populations, while low in European. A positive selec ...[more]

PMID: 25788149

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Project description:BackgroundOngoing Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection triggers a chronic active gastritis. Eradicating HP reduces gastric inflammation, but does not eliminate it. We sought to characterize this persistent gastritis, and demonstrate the persistence of HP-specific Th17 responses in individuals previously infected with HP but who no longer had evidence of ongoing infection.Methodology/principal findingsStudy subjects were divided into 3 groups 55 individuals had active HP infection (group A), 41 were diagnosed with previous HP infection (group P), and 59 were naïve to HP (group N). Blood and gastric tissue were obtained with written informed consent from all subjects, and immune responses were evaluated using flow cytometry, semi-quantitative real time PCR, immunofluorescent staining, ELISA, and multiplex cytometric bead array for cytokine quantification. Elevated IL-17A responses were observed in patients from group A compared to group N. Interestingly, IL-17A responses remained persistently elevated in the blood and gastric mucosa of individuals from group P, despite the absence of ongoing HP infection. Using purified CD4(+) T cells as effectors and antibodies that blocked antigen presentation by MHC Class II, we showed that these persistent IL-17A responses were mediated primarily by HP-specific Th17 cells, rather than other immune cells that have also been described to secrete IL-17A. Gastric mucosal IL-1? levels were also persistently elevated in group P, and neutralisation of IL-1? reduced the HP-specific IL-17A response of purified CD4(+) T cells to autologous HP-pulsed antigen presenting cells in vitro, suggesting a functional association between IL-1? and the persistent Th17 response in group P patients.Conclusions/significanceDespite lack of ongoing HP infection, HP-specific Th17 cells persist in the blood and gastric mucosa of individuals with past HP infection. We speculate that this persistent inflammation might contribute to gastric mucosal pathology, for example, persistent increased gastric cancer risk despite eradication of HP.

Dataset Information

Elevated levels of adaption in Helicobacter pylori genomes from Japan; a link to higher incidences of gastric cancer?

Publications

Elevated levels of adaption in Helicobacter pylori genomes from Japan; a link to higher incidences of gastric cancer?

Similar Datasets

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