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The Boccellato group at NDM’s Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research have studied the regulation of antimicrobial peptide secretion in the mucus and its role in determining the colonisation of a pathogen association with stomach cancer.

Mucus is a viscous gel produced by epithelial cells that protects the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract from potentially harmful microbes ingested with food. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a gram-negative bacterium with a unique preference for the human stomach, where it is the only known coloniser. Infection with H. pylori is associated with various gastrointestinal diseases, including gastric cancer.

Antimicrobial peptides are naturally occurring antibiotics produced by our own cells. The mucus from inflamed cells exhibits significant anti-H. pylori activity in vitro.

The Boccellato group has previously developed a stem cell-driven model of the healthy human stomach known as mucosoid cultures. In this study, the researchers used this technology to induce cells within the mucosoid culture to produce mucus on the apical side. The group then studied the impact of the mucus in controlling microbial invasion, finding that inflammation induces the stomach epithelium to secrete antimicrobial peptides in the mucus.

However, it was also noted that the presence of H. pylori infection leads to a decrease in the expression of antimicrobial peptides, indicating that the bacteria have developed a way to avoid these innate epithelial defences. This allows H. pylori to persist for decades, increasing the risk of developing gastric cancer.

Read the full article in Gut Microbes: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19490976.2024.2390680#d1e483

 

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