Effect of Helicobacter pylori on ATM-dependent DNA damage responses [cell lines]

Carcinogenic bacteria, Helicobacter pylori, induce DNA double-strand breaks in infected host cells. Therefore, we have investigated which genes are upregulated after the infection. Although Helicobacter pylori infection is etiologically related to the inflammation-related malignancy, gastric cancers, it role in the molecular pathogenesis of disease remains unclear. In vitro studies have suggested the infection may cause breaks in double-stranded DNA. We used microarray analysis of H. pylori-infected human gastric biopsies to investigate the effect of H. pylori on gene expression genes involved in DNA repair and DNA damage response. Micro-array analysis and immunohistochemistory showed that ATM (ataxia-telangiectasia mutated) was upregulated in H. pylori gastritis but down regulated in the premalignant lesion, intestinal metaplasia. Studies in gastric cancer cell lines showed that H. pylori-infection induced activation of ATM and formation of γ-H2AX. γ-H2AX formation was present following infection with bout cag pathogenicity island (PAI)- positive and negative strains but more robust with cag PAI positive strains consistent with the fact that both cag PAI positive negative strains are associated with gastric cancer but the risk is higher with cag PAI positive strains. Eradication of H. pylori infection is associated with a reduction in cancer risk even in the most high risk populations. These data provide a plausible molecular mechanism for a direct bacterial-host interaction increasing cancer risk. To identify tumor suppressors affected by H. pylori-infection, microarray screening was used to compare the gene expression profiles of AGS cells, a gastric cancer cell line, infected with various mutants of H. pylori.