Project description:Background: Helicobacter pylori has been shown to alter the secretion of gastric hormones that modulate body fat deposition. Since cag-positive H. pylori strains interact intimately with the host gastric epithelial cells and trigger higher inflammation than cag-negative strains, we hypothesized that gastric colonization with H. pylori strains without functional cagA ameliorates obesity and its complications by modulating gastric gene expression and inflammation. Methodology/Principal Findings: To test this hypothesis we examined the effects of gastric colonization on metabolic and inflammatory markers in mice infected with two isogenic strains of H. pylori: 26695 strain 98-325 (cagA+ wild-type) and its cag pathogenicity island (cagPAI) mutant strain 99-305, a knockout made by inserting a chloramphenicol resistance cassette. Only the cagPAI mutant decreased fasting blood glucose levels, improved glucose tolerance and suppressed weight gain in db/db mice and mice with diet-induced obesity. These effects were associated with increased gastric leptin levels, suppressed infiltration of macrophages, enhanced influx of regulatory T cells (Treg) in adipose tissue and suppressed gastric inflammation. Gene set enrichment analyses of gastric mucosal samples identified six differentially modulated pathways, including the Hedgehog signaling pathway that is associated with control of cellular proliferation and gastric carcinogenesis as well as the insulin signaling pathway. Conclusions/Significance: Gastric colonization with cagPAI-negative strains of H. pylori ameliorate obesity and inflammation by modulating gastric gene expression, suggesting that cag-negative H. pylori strains might be beneficial in ameliorating obesity and its co-morbidities. Gastric mucosa from three groups of mice: uninfected, infected with H. pylori 26695 strain 98-325 (cagA+ wild-type) or infected with H. pylori mutant strain 99-305 (lacking cag pathogenicity island; cagA-)
Project description:Background: Helicobacter pylori has been shown to alter the secretion of gastric hormones that modulate body fat deposition. Since cag-positive H. pylori strains interact intimately with the host gastric epithelial cells and trigger higher inflammation than cag-negative strains, we hypothesized that gastric colonization with H. pylori strains without functional cagA ameliorates obesity and its complications by modulating gastric gene expression and inflammation. Methodology/Principal Findings: To test this hypothesis we examined the effects of gastric colonization on metabolic and inflammatory markers in mice infected with two isogenic strains of H. pylori: 26695 strain 98-325 (cagA+ wild-type) and its cag pathogenicity island (cagPAI) mutant strain 99-305, a knockout made by inserting a chloramphenicol resistance cassette. Only the cagPAI mutant decreased fasting blood glucose levels, improved glucose tolerance and suppressed weight gain in db/db mice and mice with diet-induced obesity. These effects were associated with increased gastric leptin levels, suppressed infiltration of macrophages, enhanced influx of regulatory T cells (Treg) in adipose tissue and suppressed gastric inflammation. Gene set enrichment analyses of gastric mucosal samples identified six differentially modulated pathways, including the Hedgehog signaling pathway that is associated with control of cellular proliferation and gastric carcinogenesis as well as the insulin signaling pathway. Conclusions/Significance: Gastric colonization with cagPAI-negative strains of H. pylori ameliorate obesity and inflammation by modulating gastric gene expression, suggesting that cag-negative H. pylori strains might be beneficial in ameliorating obesity and its co-morbidities.
Project description:Based on preliminary data demonstrating that macrophages are critical regulators of Helicobacter pylori colonization and gastric pathology in mice, we sought to investigate how macrophages may serve as bacterial reservoirs of intracellular H. pylori.
Project description:Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a human pathogen that infects almost half of the world’s population. Infection with H. pylori is frequently associated with chronic gastritis and can even lead to gastric and duodenal ulcers and gastric cancer. Although the persistent colonization of H. pylori and the development of H. pylori-associated gastritis remain poorly understood, it is believed that, in gastric mucosa, the modulated gastric epithelial cells (GECs) by H. pylori are key contributors. We used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression in Helicobacter pylori infected-gastric epithelial cell line AGS cells and identified up-regulated genes induced by Helicobacter pylori infection.
Project description:The role of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification of host mRNA during bacterial infection is unclear. Here, we show that Helicobacter pylori infection upregulated major m6A “writers” and increased m6A level in gastric epithelial cells. Attenuating m6A increase by hemizygotic deletion of Mettl3 in mice or small interfering RNAs targeting m6A “writers” exacerbated H. pylori colonization. LOX-1 mRNA was identified as a key m6A-regulated target during H. pylori infection. m6A modification destabilized LOX-1 mRNA and reduced LOX-1 protein level. LOX-1 acted as a membrane receptor for H. pylori catalase to mediate the bacterial adhesion. BI-0115, a small-molecule inhibitor of LOX-1, suppressed H. pylori adhesion and colonization. Genetic ablation of Lox-1 also reduced H. pylori colonization in mice. In sum, this study reveals that m6A modification is an auto-protective mechanism against H. pylori infection by downregulating LOX-1 to prevent H. pylori adhesion. LOX-1 could be a druggable target for controlling H. pylori infection.
Project description:The role of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification of host mRNA during bacterial infection is unclear. Here, we show that Helicobacter pylori infection upregulated major m6A “writers” and increased m6A level in gastric epithelial cells. Attenuating m6A increase by hemizygotic deletion of Mettl3 in mice or small interfering RNAs targeting m6A “writers” exacerbated H. pylori colonization. LOX-1 mRNA was identified as a key m6A-regulated target during H. pylori infection. m6A modification destabilized LOX-1 mRNA and reduced LOX-1 protein level. LOX-1 acted as a membrane receptor for H. pylori catalase to mediate the bacterial adhesion. BI-0115, a small-molecule inhibitor of LOX-1, suppressed H. pylori adhesion and colonization. Genetic ablation of Lox-1 also reduced H. pylori colonization in mice. In sum, this study reveals that m6A modification is an auto-protective mechanism against H. pylori infection by downregulating LOX-1 to prevent H. pylori adhesion. LOX-1 could be a druggable target for controlling H. pylori infection.
Project description:The model is first model of tissue level cellular immune responses to H. pylori in the publication, "Modeling the role of lanthionine synthetase C-like 2 (LANCL2) in the modulation of immune responses to Helicobacter pylori infection" in PlosOne by Leber, Bassaganya-Riera, Tubau-Juni, Zoccoli-Rodriguez, Viladomiu, Abedi, Lu, and Hontecillas.
Abstract:
Immune responses to Helicobacter pylori are orchestrated through complex balances of host-bacterial interactions, including inflammatory and regulatory immune responses across scales that can lead to the development of the gastric disease or the promotion of beneficial systemic effects. While inflammation in response to the bacterium has been reasonably characterized, the regulatory pathways that contribute to preventing inflammatory events during H. pylori infection are incompletely understood. To aid in this effort, we have generated a computational model incorporating recent developments in the understanding of H. pylori-host interactions. Sensitivity analysis of this model reveals that a regulatory macrophage population is critical in maintaining high H. pylori colonization without the generation of an inflammatory response. To address how this myeloid cell subset arises, we developed a second model describing an intracellular signaling network for the differentiation of macrophages. Modeling studies predicted that LANCL2 is a central regulator of inflammatory and effector pathways and its activation promotes regulatory responses characterized by IL-10 production while suppressing effector responses. The predicted impairment of regulatory macrophage differentiation by the loss of LANCL2 was simulated based on multiscale linkages between the tissue-level gastric mucosa and the intracellular models. The simulated deletion of LANCL2 resulted in a greater clearance of H. pylori, but also greater IFNγ responses and damage to the epithelium. The model predictions were validated within a mouse model of H. pylori colonization in wild-type (WT), LANCL2 whole body KO and myeloid-specific LANCL2-/- (LANCL2Myeloid) mice, which displayed similar decreases in H. pylori burden, CX3CR1+ IL-10-producing macrophages, and type 1 regulatory (Tr1) T cells. This study shows the importance of LANCL2 in the induction of regulatory responses in macrophages and T cells during H. pylori infection.
Project description:The model is the second model of the publication "Modeling the role of lanthionine synthetase C-like 2 (LANCL2) in the modulation of immune responses to Helicobacter pylori infection" published in PlosOne by Leber, Bassaganya-Riera, Tubau-Juni, Zoccoli-Rodriguez, Viladomiu, Abedi, Lu, and Hontecillas.
Abstract:
Immune responses to Helicobacter pylori are orchestrated through complex balances of host-bacterial interactions, including inflammatory and regulatory immune responses across scales that can lead to the development of the gastric disease or the promotion of beneficial systemic effects. While inflammation in response to the bacterium has been reasonably characterized, the regulatory pathways that contribute to preventing inflammatory events during H. pylori infection are incompletely understood. To aid in this effort, we have generated a computational model incorporating recent developments in the understanding of H. pylori-host interactions. Sensitivity analysis of this model reveals that a regulatory macrophage population is critical in maintaining high H. pylori colonization without the generation of an inflammatory response. To address how this myeloid cell subset arises, we developed a second model describing an intracellular signaling network for the differentiation of macrophages. Modeling studies predicted that LANCL2 is a central regulator of inflammatory and effector pathways and its activation promotes regulatory responses characterized by IL-10 production while suppressing effector responses. The predicted impairment of regulatory macrophage differentiation by the loss of LANCL2 was simulated based on multiscale linkages between the tissue-level gastric mucosa and the intracellular models. The simulated deletion of LANCL2 resulted in a greater clearance of H. pylori, but also greater IFNγ responses and damage to the epithelium. The model predictions were validated within a mouse model of H. pylori colonization in wild-type (WT), LANCL2 whole body KO and myeloid-specific LANCL2-/- (LANCL2Myeloid) mice, which displayed similar decreases in H. pylori burden, CX3CR1+ IL-10-producing macrophages, and type 1 regulatory (Tr1) T cells. This study shows the importance of LANCL2 in the induction of regulatory responses in macrophages and T cells during H. pylori infection.
Project description:Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is characterized as progressive processes of bacterial persistence and chronic gastritis with features of infiltration of mononuclear cells more than granulocytes in gastric mucosa. Angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4) is considered a double-edged sword in inflammation-associated diseases, but its function and clinical relevance in H. pylori-associated pathology is unknown. Here we demonstrate both pro-colonization and pro-inflammation roles of ANGPTL4 in H. pylori infection. Increased ANGPTL4 in the infected gastric mucosa was produced from gastric epithelial cells (GECs) synergistically induced by H. pylori and IL-17A in a cagA-dependent manner. Human gastric ANGPTL4 correlated with H. pylori colonization and the severity of gastritis, and mouse ANGPTL4 from non-bone marrow-derived cells promoted bacteria colonization and inflammation. Importantly, H. pylori colonization and inflammation were attenuated in Il17a-/-, Angptl4-/-, Il17a-/-Angptl4-/- mice. Mechanistically, ANGPTL4 bound to integrin αV (ITGAV) on GECs to suppress CXCL1 production by inhibiting ERK, leading to decreased gastric influx of neutrophils, thereby promoting H. pylori colonization; ANGPTL4 also bound to ITGAV on monocytes to promote CCL5 production by activating PI3K-AKT-NF-κB, resulting in increased gastric influx of regulatory CD4+ T cells (Tregs) via CCL5-CCR4-dependent migration. In turn, ANGPTL4 induced Treg proliferation through binding to ITGAV to activate PI3K-AKT-NF-κB, promoting H. pylori-associated gastritis. Overall, we propose a model in which ANGPTL4 collectively ensures H. pylori persistence and promotes gastritis. Efforts to inhibit ANGPTL4-associated pathway may prove valuable strategies in treating H. pylori infection.
Project description:Chronic infection of the human stomach with Helicobacter pylori leads to a variety of pathologic sequelae including peptic ulcer and gastric cancer, resulting in significant human morbidity and mortality. Several genes have been implicated in disease related to H. pylori infection including the vacuolating cytotoxin and the cag pathogenicity island. Other factors important for establishment and maintenance of infection include urease enzyme production, motility, iron uptake and stress response. We utilized a C57BL/6 mouse infection model to query a collection of 2400 transposon mutants in two different bacterial strain backgrounds for H. pylori genetic loci contributing to colonization of the stomach. Microarray based tracking of transposon mutants allowed us to monitor the behavior of transposon insertions in 758 different gene loci. Of the loci measured 223 (29%) had a predicted colonization defect. These include previously described H. pylori virulence genes, genes implicated in virulence in other pathogenic bacteria and 81 hypothetical proteins. We have retested 10 previously uncharacterized candidate colonization gene loci by making independent null alleles and confirmed their colonization phenotype using competition experiments and determination of the dose required for 50% infection. Of the genetic loci retested, 60% have strain specific colonization defects while 40% had phenotypes in both strain backgrounds for infection, highlighting the profound effect of H. pylori strain variation on the pathogenic potential of this organism. This SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.