Inflammation-Associated Senescence Promotes Helicobacter pylori-Induced Atrophic Gastritis

The association between cellular senescence and Helicobacter pylori-induced atrophic gastritis is not clear. Here, we explore the role of cellular senescence in H pylori-induced atrophic gastritis and the underlying mechanism.

C57BL/6J mice were infected with H pylori for biological and mechanistic studies in vivo. Gastric precancerous lesions from patients and mouse models were collected and analyzed using senescence-associated beta-galactosidase, Sudan Black B, and immunohistochemical staining to analyze senescent cells, signaling pathways, and H pylori infection. Chromatin immunoprecipitation, luciferase reporter assays, and other techniques were used to explore the underlying mechanism in vitro.

Gastric mucosa atrophy was highly associated with cellular senescence. H pylori promoted gastric epithelial cell senescence in vitro and in vivo in a manner that depended on C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 2 (CXCR2) signaling. Interestingly, H pylori infection not only up-regulated the expression of CXCR2 ligands, C-X-C motif chemokine ligands 1 and 8, but also transcriptionally up-regulated the expression of CXCR2 via the nuclear factor-κB subunit 1 directly. In addition, CXCR2 formed a positive feedback loop with p53 to continually enhance senescence. Pharmaceutical inhibition of CXCR2 in an H pylori-infected mouse model attenuated mucosal senescence and atrophy, and delayed further precancerous lesion progression.

Our study showed a new mechanism of H pylori-induced atrophic gastritis through CXCR2-mediated cellular senescence. Inhibition of CXCR2 signaling is suggested as a potential preventive therapy for targeting H pylori-induced atrophic gastritis. GEO data set accession numbers: GSE47797 and GSE3556.