Does bacterial infection cause genome instability and cancer in the host cell?
Research of the past several decades suggests that bacterial infection can lead to genome instability of the host cell often resulting in cancer development. However, there is still a substantial lack of knowledge regarding possible mechanisms involved in the development of genomic instability. Several questions remain unanswered, namely: Why has the causative relationship between the bacterial infection and cancer been established only for a small number of cancers? What is the mechanism responsible for the induction of genome instability and cancer? Is the infection process required to cause genome instability and cancer? In this review, we present a hypothesis that the bacterial infection, exposure to heat-killed bacteria or even some bacterial determinants may trigger genome instability of exposed and distal cells, and thus may cause cancer. We will discuss the mechanisms of host responses to the bacterial infection and present the possible pathways leading to genome instability and cancer through exposure to bacteria.
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge T1K 3M4, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address: olga.kovalchuk@uleth.ca.
Olga
O
Kovalchuk
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge T1K 3M4, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address: walz@uleth.ca.
Paul
P
Walz
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge T1K 3M4, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address: igor.kovalchuk@uleth.ca.
Igor
I
Kovalchuk
D000818:Animals; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics*; D042822:Genomic Instability; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology*
Bacterial infection; Bystander effect; Cancer; Cell proliferation; Genome stability; Lipopolysaccharides