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colonizes about half of humans worldwide, and its presence in the gastric mucosa is associated with an increased risk of gastric adenocarcinoma, gastric lymphoma, and peptic ulcer disease. strains carrying the pathogenicity island (PAI) are associated with increased risk of disease progression. The PAI encodes the Cag type IV secretion system (Cag), which delivers the CagA oncoprotein and other effector molecules into human gastric epithelial cells. We visualized structures of native and mutant Cag machines on the cell envelope by cryoelectron tomography. Individual cells contain multiple Cag nanomachines, each composed of a wheel-shaped outer membrane complex (OMC) with 14-fold symmetry and an inner membrane complex (IMC) with 6-fold symmetry. CagX, CagY, and CagM are required for assembly of the OMC, whereas strains lacking Cag3 and CagT produce outer membrane complexes lacking peripheral components. The IMC, which has never been visualized in detail, is configured as six tiers in cross-section view and three concentric rings surrounding a central channel in end-on view. The IMC contains three T4SS ATPases: (i) VirB4-like CagE, arranged as a hexamer of dimers at the channel entrance; (ii) a hexamer of VirB11-like Cagα, docked at the base of the CagE hexamer; and (iii) VirD4-like Cagβ and other unspecified Cag subunits, associated with the stacked CagE/Cagα complex and forming the outermost rings. The Cag and recently solved Dot/Icm system comprise new structural prototypes for the T4SS superfamily. Bacterial type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) have been phylogenetically grouped into two subfamilies. The T4ASSs, represented by the VirB/VirD4, include "minimized" machines assembled from 12 VirB- and VirD4-like subunits and compositionally larger systems such as the Cag T4BSSs encompass systems closely related in subunit composition to the Dot/Icm Here, we present structures of native and mutant Cag machines determined by cryoelectron tomography. We identify distinct outer and inner membrane complexes and, for the first time, visualize structural contributions of all three "signature" ATPases of T4SSs at the cytoplasmic entrance of the translocation channel. Despite their evolutionary divergence, the Cag aligns structurally much more closely to the Dot/Icm than an available VirB/VirD4 subcomplex. Our findings highlight the diversity of T4SSs and suggest a structural classification scheme in which T4SSs are grouped as minimized VirB/VirD4-like or larger Cag-like and Dot/Icm-like systems.
Copyright © 2019 Hu et al.

CagA is a secreted effector protein that contributes to gastric carcinogenesis. Previous studies showed that there is variation among strains in the steady-state levels of CagA and that a strain-specific motif downstream of the transcriptional start site (the +59 motif) is associated with both high levels of CagA and premalignant gastric histology. The 5' untranslated region contains a predicted stem-loop-forming structure adjacent to the +59 motif. In the current study, we investigated the effect of the +59 motif and the adjacent stem-loop on transcript levels and mRNA stability. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we found that mutations predicted to disrupt the stem-loop structure resulted in decreased steady-state levels of both the transcript and the CagA protein. Additionally, these mutations resulted in a decreased mRNA half-life. Mutagenesis of the +59 motif without altering the stem-loop structure resulted in reduced steady-state transcript and CagA protein levels but did not affect transcript stability. transcript stability was not affected by increased sodium chloride concentrations, an environmental factor known to augment transcript levels and CagA protein levels. These results indicate that both a predicted stem-loop structure and a strain-specific +59 motif in the 5' untranslated region influence the levels of expression.
Copyright © 2019 American Society for Microbiology.

Infection with Helicobacter pylori is one of the strongest risk factors for development of gastric cancer. Although these bacteria infect approximately half of the world's population, only a small fraction of infected individuals develops gastric malignancies. Interactions between host and bacterial virulence factors are complex and interrelated, making it difficult to elucidate specific processes associated with H. pylori-induced tumorigenesis. In this study, we found that H. pylori inhibits p14ARF tumor suppressor by inducing its degradation. This effect was found to be strain-specific. Downregulation of p14ARF induced by H. pylori leads to inhibition of autophagy in a p53-independent manner in infected cells. We identified TRIP12 protein as E3 ubiquitin ligase that is upregulated by H. pylori, inducing ubiquitination and subsequent degradation of p14ARF protein. Using isogenic H. pylori mutants, we found that induction of TRIP12 is mediated by bacterial virulence factor CagA. Increased expression of TRIP12 protein was found in infected gastric epithelial cells in vitro and human gastric mucosa of H. pylori-infected individuals. In conclusion, our data demonstrate a new mechanism of ARF inhibition that may affect host-bacteria interactions and facilitate tumorigenic transformation in the stomach.

Helicobacter pylori type IV secretion system injects the oncoprotein CagA into epithelial cells to drive carcinogenesis. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Tegtmeyer et al. (2017) show that a secreted bacterial protease disrupts apical-junctional complexes, paving the way for H. pylori to access the basolateral compartment and trigger pathogenesis.
Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

is the strongest risk factor for gastric adenocarcinoma, yet only a minority of infected persons ever develop this malignancy. One cancer-linked locus is the type 4 secretion system (T4SS), which translocates an oncoprotein into host cells. A structural component of the T4SS is CagY, which becomes rapidly altered during adaptation in mice and rhesus monkeys, rendering the T4SS nonfunctional; however, these models rarely develop gastric cancer. We previously demonstrated that the strain 7.13 rapidly induces gastric cancer in Mongolian gerbils. We now use this model, in conjunction with samples from patients with premalignant lesions, to define the effects of a carcinogenic host environment on the virulence phenotype of to understand how only a subset of infected individuals develop cancer. sequence differences and T4SS function were directly related to the severity of inflammation in human gastric mucosa in either a synchronous or metachronous manner. Serial infections of Mongolian gerbils with strain 7.13 identified an oscillating pattern of T4SS function. The development of dysplasia or cancer selected for attenuated virulence phenotypes, but robust T4SS function could be restored upon infection of new hosts. Changes in the genetic composition of mirrored T4SS function, although the mechanisms of alterations differed in human isolates (mutations) versus gerbil isolates (addition/deletion of motifs). These results indicate that host carcinogenic phenotypes modify T4SS function via altering allowing the bacteria to persist and induce carcinogenic consequences in the gastric niche. .
©2017 American Association for Cancer Research.

UNLABELLED - A known virulence factor of Helicobacter pylori that augments gastric cancer risk is the CagA cytotoxin. A carcinogenic derivative strain, 7.13, that has a greater ability to translocate CagA exhibits much higher hydrogenase activity than its parent noncarcinogenic strain, B128. A Δhyd mutant strain with deletion of hydrogenase genes was ineffective in CagA translocation into human gastric epithelial AGS cells, while no significant attenuation of cell adhesion was observed. The quinone reductase inhibitor 2-n-heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline-N-oxide (HQNO) was used to specifically inhibit the H2-utilizing respiratory chain of outer membrane-permeabilized bacterial cells; that level of inhibitor also greatly attenuated CagA translocation into AGS cells, indicating the H2-generated transmembrane potential is a contributor to toxin translocation. The Δhyd strain showed a decreased frequency of DNA transformation, suggesting that H. pylori hydrogenase is also involved in energizing the DNA uptake apparatus. In a gerbil model of infection, the ability of the Δhyd strain to induce inflammation was significantly attenuated (at 12 weeks postinoculation), while all of the gerbils infected with the parent strain (7.13) exhibited a high level of inflammation. Gastric cancer developed in 50% of gerbils infected with the wild-type strain 7.13 but in none of the animals infected with the Δhyd strain. By examining the hydrogenase activities from well-defined clinical H. pylori isolates, we observed that strains isolated from cancer patients (n = 6) have a significantly higher hydrogenase (H2/O2) activity than the strains isolated from gastritis patients (n = 6), further supporting an association between H. pylori hydrogenase activity and gastric carcinogenesis in humans.
IMPORTANCE - Hydrogen-utilizing hydrogenases are known to be important for some respiratory pathogens to colonize hosts. Here a gastric cancer connection is made via a pathogen's (H. pylori) use of molecular hydrogen, a host microbiome-produced gas. Delivery of the known carcinogenic factor CagA into host cells is augmented by the H2-utilizing respiratory chain of the bacterium. The role of hydrogenase in carcinogenesis is demonstrated in an animal model, whereby inflammation markers and cancer development were attenuated in the hydrogenase-null strain. Hydrogenase activity comparisons of clinical strains of the pathogen also support a connection between hydrogen metabolism and gastric cancer risk. While molecular hydrogen use is acknowledged to be an alternative high-energy substrate for some pathogens, this work extends the roles of H2 oxidation to include transport of a carcinogenic toxin. The work provides a new avenue for exploratory treatment of some cancers via microflora alterations.
Copyright © 2016 Wang et al.

Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency worldwide and compelling evidence has demonstrated that this condition heightens the risk of gastric cancer. Infection with Helicobacter pylori is the strongest known risk factor for the development of gastric adenocarcinoma. Recent work has demonstrated that, under conditions of iron deficiency, H. pylori-induced gastric carcinogenesis is augmented through increased formation of the strain-specific cag type IV secretion system and enhanced delivery of the bacterial oncoprotein CagA into host cells. Although CagA is a potent virulence factor that promotes oncogenic responses, additional studies have now demonstrated that CagA modulates host cell iron homeostasis in vitro and fundamental metabolic functions of the bacterial cell in vivo. Here we discuss these findings and describe working models by which CagA exerts its effects on gastric epithelial cells, with particular emphasis on its potential role in modulation of host iron homeostasis.

BACKGROUND - Bordetella pertussis colonizes the human respiratory mucosa. Most studies on B. pertussis adherence have relied on cultured mammalian cells that lack key features present in differentiated human airway cells or on animal models that are not natural hosts of B. pertussis. The objectives of this work were to evaluate B. pertussis infection in highly differentiated human airway cells in vitro and to show the role of B. pertussis fimbriae in cell adherence.
METHODS - Primary human airway epithelial (PHAE) cells from human bronchi and a human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cell line were grown in vitro under air-liquid interface conditions.
RESULTS - PHAE and HBE cells infected with B. pertussis wild-type strain revealed bacterial adherence to the apical surface of cells, bacteria-induced cytoskeleton changes, and cell detachment. Mutations in the major fimbrial subunits Fim2/3 or in the minor fimbrial adhesin subunit FimD affected B. pertussis adherence to predominantly HBE cells. This cell model recapitulates the morphologic features of the human airway infected by B. pertussis and confirms the role of fimbriae in B. pertussis adherence. Furthermore, HBE cells show that fimbrial subunits, and specifically FimD adhesin, are critical in B. pertussis adherence to airway cells.
CONCLUSIONS - The relevance of this model to study host-parasite interaction in pertussis lies in the striking physiologic and morphologic similarity between the PHAE and HBE cells and the human airway ciliated and goblet cells in vivo. These cells can proliferate in vitro, differentiate, and express the same genetic profile as human respiratory cells in vivo.

Outer surface protein C (OspC) is one of the major lipoproteins expressed on the surface of Borrelia burgdorferi during tick feeding and the early phase of mammalian infection. OspC is required for B. burgdorferi to establish infection in both immunocompetent and SCID mice and has been proposed to facilitate evasion of innate immune defenses. However, the exact biological function of OspC remains elusive. In this study, we showed that the ospC-deficient spirochete could not establish infection in NOD-scid IL2rγ(null) mice that lack B cells, T cells, NK cells, and lytic complement. The ospC mutant also could not establish infection in anti-Ly6G-treated SCID and C3H/HeN mice (depletion of neutrophils). However, depletion of mononuclear phagocytes at the skin site of inoculation in SCID and C3H/HeN mice allowed the ospC mutant to establish infection in vivo. In phagocyte-depleted mice, the ospC mutant was able to colonize the joints and triggered neutrophilia during dissemination. Furthermore, we found that phagocytosis of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing ospC mutant spirochetes by murine peritoneal macrophages and human THP-1 macrophage-like cells, but not in PMN-HL60, was significantly higher than parental wild-type B. burgdorferi strains, suggesting that OspC has an antiphagocytic property. In addition, overproduction of OspC in spirochetes also decreased the uptake of spirochetes by murine peritoneal macrophages. Together, our findings provide evidence that mononuclear phagocytes play a key role in clearance of the ospC mutant and that OspC promotes spirochetes' evasion of macrophages during early Lyme borreliosis.
Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.