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Review
. 2023 Feb 2;24(3):2895.
doi: 10.3390/ijms24032895.

Helicobacter pylori and Gastric Cancer: Pathogenetic Mechanisms

Silvia Salvatori  1   2 , Irene Marafini  1   2 , Federica Laudisi  1 , Giovanni Monteleone  1   2 , Carmine Stolfi  1
Affiliations
Review

Helicobacter pylori and Gastric Cancer: Pathogenetic Mechanisms

Silvia Salvatori et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Gastric cancer is the sixth most commonly diagnosed cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is one of the main risk factors for this type of neoplasia. Carcinogenetic mechanisms associated with H. pylori are based, on the one hand, on the onset of chronic inflammation and, on the other hand, on bacterial-specific virulence factors that can damage the DNA of gastric epithelial cells and promote genomic instability. Here, we review and discuss the major pathogenetic mechanisms by which H. pylori infection contributes to the onset and development of gastric cancer.

Keywords: CagA; MMR; ROS; cytokines; genomic instability; inflammation; virulence factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

GM has served as an advisory board member for ABBVIE and First Wave BioPharma. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Direct and indirect actions of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) on gastric epithelial cells during gastric carcinogenesis. Abbreviations: Smad7: suppressor of mothers against decapentaplegic 7; ROS: reactive oxygen species; RNS: reactive nitrogen species; IL: interleukin; NF-ĸB: nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells. Created with Biorender.com.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Virulence factors involved in the pathogenicity of H. pylori. Abbreviations: BabA: blood group antigen-binding adhesion A; SabA: sialic acid-binding adhesion A; NAP: neutrophil activating protein; Hsp: heat shock protein; VacA: vacuolating cytotoxin gene A; CagA: cytotoxin-associated gene A; T4SS: type IV secretion system; NAP: neutrophil-activating protein; ROS: reactive oxygen species; IL: interleukin; MIP: macrophage inflammatory protein; NF-kB: nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells; TLR: toll-like receptor; MAPK: mitogen-activated protein kinase. Created with Biorender.com.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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