Helicobacter pylori induces apoptosis of human monocytes but not monocyte-derived dendritic cells: role of the cag pathogenicity island.
Monocytes are circulating precursors of the dendritic cell subset, professional antigen-presenting cells with a unique ability to initiate the innate and adaptive immune response. In this study, we have investigated the effects of wild-type Helicobacter pylori strains and their isogenic mutants with mutations in known bacterial virulence factors on monocytes and monocyte-derived dendritic cells. We show that H. pylori strains induce apoptosis of human monocytes by a mechanism that is dependent on the expression of a functional cag pathogenicity island. This effect requires an intact injection organelle for direct contact between monocytes and the bacteria but also requires a still-unidentified effector that is different from VacA or CagA. The exposure of in vitro-generated monocyte-derived dendritic cells to H. pylori stimulates the release of inflammatory cytokines by a similar mechanism. Of note is that dendritic cells are resistant to H. pylori-induced apoptosis. These phenomena may play a critical role in the evasion of the immune response by H. pylori, contributing to the persistence of the infection.
Dipartimento di Biologia e Patologia Cellulare e Molecolare L. Califano, Università di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy.
Mario
M
Galgani
Immacolata
I
Busiello
Stefano
S
Censini
Serafino
S
Zappacosta
Luigi
L
Racioppi
Raffaele
R
Zarrilli
D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism; D017209:Apoptosis; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006801:Humans; D009000:Monocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology*; D014774:Virulence
D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D016207:Cytokines; C074689:VacA protein, Helicobacter pylori; C080866:cagA protein, Helicobacter pylori