Male-Dependent Promotion of Colitis in 129 <i>Rag2<sup>−/−</sup></i> Mice Co-Infected with <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> and <i>Helicobacter hepaticus</i>

Male-Dependent Promotion of Colitis in 129 <i>Rag2<sup>−/−</sup></i> Mice Co-Infected with <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> and <i>Helicobacter hepaticus</i>

The prevalence of gastric <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> (Hp) infection is ~50% of the world population. However, how Hp infection influences inflammatory bowel disease in humans is not fully defined. In this study, we examined whether co-infection with Hp influenced <i>Helicobacter he...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zhongming Ge, Lili Ge, Sureshkumar Muthupalani, Yan Feng, James G. Fox
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-11-01
Series:International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Subjects:
<i>H. pylori</i>
<i>H. hepaticus</i>
co-infection
colitis promotion
inflammatory responses
129 <i>Rag</i> mice
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/23/8886
Description
Summary:The prevalence of gastric <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> (Hp) infection is ~50% of the world population. However, how Hp infection influences inflammatory bowel disease in humans is not fully defined. In this study, we examined whether co-infection with Hp influenced <i>Helicobacter hepaticus</i> (Hh)–induced intestinal pathology in <i>Rag2<sup>−/−</sup></i> mice. <i>Rag2<sup>−/−</sup></i> mice of both sexes were infected with Hh, of which a subgroup was followed by infection with Hp two weeks later. Co-infected males, but not females, had significantly higher total colitis index scores in the colon at both 10 and 21 weeks post-Hh infection (WPI) and developed more severe dysplasia at 21 WPI compared with mono-Hh males. There were no significant differences in colonization levels of gastric Hp and colonic Hh between sexes or time-points. In addition, mRNA levels of colonic <i>Il-1β</i>, <i>Ifnγ</i>, <i>Tnfα</i>, <i>Il-17A</i>, <i>Il-17F</i>, <i>Il-18</i>, and <i>Il-23</i>, which play important roles in the development and function of proinflammatory innate lymphoid cell groups 1 and 3, were significantly up-regulated in the dually infected males compared with mono-Hh males at 21 WPI. These data suggest that concomitant Hp infection enhances the inflammatory responses in the colon of-Hh-infected <i>Rag2<sup>−/−</sup></i> males, which results in more severe colitis and dysplasia.
ISSN:1661-6596
1422-0067

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