Interferon gamma-signature transcript profiling and IL-23 upregulation in response to Helicobacter pylori infection

Abstract

Helicobacter pylori infection is the major cause of gastroduodenal pathologies including gastric cancer. The long persistence of bacteria and the type of immune and inflammatory response determine the clinical issue. In this study, the global gene expression profile after 6 and 12 months of H. pylori infection was investigated in the mouse stomach, using the Affymetrix GeneChip Mouse Expression Array A430. Genes related to the inflammatory and immune responses were focused. Levels of selected transcripts were confirmed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Twenty- five and nineteen percent of the differentially expressed genes observed at 6 and 12 months post-infection respectively, were related to immune response. They are characterized by an interferon (IFN)gamma-dependent expression associated to a T helper 1 (Th1) polarised response. In-depth analysis revealed that an up-regulation of IL-23p19, took place in the stomach of H. pylori infected-mice. Strong IL-23p19 levels were also confirmed in gastric biopsies from H. pylori-infected patients with chronic gastritis, as compared to healthy subjects. Our microarray analysis revealed also, a high decrease of H+K+-ATPase transcripts in the presence of the H. pylori infection. Association of gastric Th1 immune response with hypochlorhydria through the down-regulation of H+K+-ATPase contributes to the genesis of lesions upon the H. pylori infection. Our data highlight that the up-regulation of IL-23 and of many IFNgamma signature transcripts occur early on during the host response to H. pylori, and suggest that this type of immune response may promote the severity of the induced gastric lesions.