Helicobacter pyloribacteria colonize the human stomach where they stimulate a persistent inflammatory response.H. pyloriis considered noninvasive; however, lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-enriched outer membrane vesicles (OMV), continuously shed from the surface of this bacterium, are observed within gastric epithelial cells. The mechanism of vesicle uptake is poorly understood, and this study was undertaken to examine the roles of bacterial VacA cytotoxin and LPS in OMV binding and cholesterol and clathrin-mediated endocytosis in vesicle uptake by gastric epithelial cells. OMV association was examined using a fluorescent membrane dye to label OMV, and a comparison was made between the associations of vesicles from a VacA⁺strain and OMV from a VacA⁻isogenic mutant strain. Within 20 min, essentially all associated OMV were intracellular, and vesicle binding appeared to be facilitated by the presence of VacA cytotoxin. Uptake of vesicles from the VacA⁺strain was inhibited byH. pyloriLPS (58% inhibition with 50 μg/ml LPS), while uptake of OMV from the VacA⁻mutant strain was less affected (25% inhibition with 50 μg/ml LPS). Vesicle uptake did not require cholesterol. However, uptake of OMV from the VacA⁻mutant strain was inhibited by a reduction in clathrin-mediated endocytosis (42% with 15 μg/ml chlorpromazine), while uptake of OMV from the VacA⁺strain was less affected (25% inhibition with 15 μg/ml chlorpromazine). We conclude that VacA toxin enhances the association ofH. pyloriOMV with cells and that the presence of the toxin may allow vesicles to exploit more than one pathway of internalization.

Introduction: The incidence of colorectal cancer in those under 50 years of age (early onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC)) is increasing throughout the world. This has predominantly been an increase in distal colonic and rectal cancers, which are biologically similar to late onset colorectal cancer (LOCRC) but with higher rates of mucinous or signet ring histology, or poorly differentiated cancers. The epidemiology of this change suggests that it is a cohort effect since 1960, and is most likely driven by an environmental cause. We explore the possible role of microplastics as a driver for this change. Review: The development of sporadic colorectal cancer is likely facilitated by the interaction of gut bacteria and the intestinal wall. Normally, a complex layer of luminal mucus provides colonocytes with a level of protection from the effects of these bacteria and their toxins. Plastics were first developed in the early 1900s. After 1945 they became more widely used, with a resultant dramatic increase in plastic pollution and their breakdown to microplastics. Microplastics (MPs) are consumed by humans from an early age and in increasingly large quantities. As MPs pass through the gastrointestinal tract they interact with the normal physiological mechanism of the body, particularly in the colon and rectum, where they may interact with the protective colonic mucus layer. We describe several possible mechanisms of how microplastics may disrupt this mucus layer, thus reducing its protective effect and increasing the likelihood of colorectal cancer. Conclusions: The epidemiology of increase in EOCRC suggests an environmental driver. This increase in EOCRC matches the time sequence in which we could expect to see an effect of rapid increase of MPs in the environment and, as such, we have explored possible mechanisms for this effect. We suggest that it is possible that the MPs damage the barrier integrity of the colonic mucus layer, thus reducing its protective effect. MPs in CRC pathogenesis warrants further investigation. Future directions: Further clarification needs to be sought regarding the interaction between MPs, gut microbiota and the mucus layer. This will need to be modelled in long-term animal studies to better understand how chronic consumption of environmentally-acquired MPs may contribute to an increased risk of colorectal carcinogenesis.

Chronic Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with an increased risk of gastric carcinogenesis. These non-invasive bacteria colonize the gastric mucosa and constitutively shed small outer membrane vesicles (OMV). In this study, we investigated the direct effect of H.pylori OMV on cellular events associated with carcinogenesis. We observed increased micronuclei formation in AGS human gastric epithelial cells treated with OMV isolated from a toxigenic H.pylori strain (60190). This effect was absent in OMV from strain 60190v:1 that has a mutant vacA, indicating VacA-dependent micronuclei formation. VacA induces intracellular vacuolation, and reduced acridine orange staining indicated disruption in the integrity of these vacuoles. This was accompanied by an alteration in iron metabolism and glutathione (GSH) loss, suggesting a role for oxidative stress in genomic damage. Increasing intracellular GSH levels with a GSH ester abrogated the VacA-mediated increase in micronuclei formation. In conclusion, OMV-mediated delivery of VacA to the gastric epithelium may constitute a new mechanism for H.pylori-induced gastric carcinogenesis.

Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) shed from the gastroduodenal pathogen Helicobacter pylori have measurable effects on epithelial cell responses. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of iron availability, and its basis, on the extent and nature of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) produced on H. pylori OMVs and their parental bacterial cells. Electrophoretic, immunoblotting and structural analyses revealed that LPSs of bacterial cells grown under iron-limited conditions were notably shorter than those of bacteria and OMVs obtained from iron-replete conditions. Structural analysis and serological probing showed that LPSs of iron-replete cells and OMVs expressed O-chains of Lewis^x with a terminal Lewis^y unit, whereas Lewis^y expression was notably reduced on bacteria and OMVs from iron-limiting conditions. Unlike the O-chain, the core oligosaccharide and lipid A moieties of iron-replete and iron-limited bacteria and their OMVs were similar. Quantitatively, shed OMVs from iron-replete bacteria were found to be LPSenriched, whereas shed OMVs from iron-limited bacteria had a significantly reduced content of LPS. These differences were linked to bacterial ATP levels. Since iron availability affects the extent and nature of LPS expressed by H. pylori, host iron status may contribute to H. pylori pathogenesis.

Colorectal cancers are the third most common type in the world. The causes of the disease are poorly understood, but since the discovery of Helicobacter pylori as a causative agent of gastric cancer, attention has turned to bacteria as a possible trigger for colorectal cancer. Recently H. pylori outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) were revealed as potentially genotoxic which can be important first step in carcinogenesis. We therefore investigated whether OMVs from intestinal Escherichia coli could be genotoxic.

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis is a bacterium sometimes found in human blood and tissue samples that may have a role in the etiology of Crohn's disease in humans. To date, however, there have been few studies examining the interactions of these bacteria with human cells. Using the THP-1 human monocytic cell line, this study shows that the uptake and trafficking of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis in human cells are cholesterol dependent and that these bacteria localize to cholesterol-rich compartments that are slow to acidify. M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis bacteria containing phagosomes stain for the late endosomal marker Rab7, but recruitment of the Rab7-interacting lysosomal protein that regulates the fusion of bacterium-containing phagosomes with lysosomal compartments and facilitates subsequent bacterial clearance is significantly reduced. Disruption of phagosome acidification via this mechanism may contribute to M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis persistence in human cells, but there was no evidence that internalized M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis also affects the survival of bacteria taken up during a secondary phagocytic event.