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Nanomechanical Hallmarks of Helicobacter pylori Infection in Pediatric Patients
Piotr Deptuła1, Łukasz Suprewicz1, Tamara Daniluk1
1Department of Medical Microbiology and Nanobiomedical Engineering, Medical University of Bialystok, PL-15222 Bialystok, Poland.
Insights
Helicobacter pylori infection softens stomach tissue, offering a potential new diagnostic marker. Gastric cells remodel their cytoskeleton in response, which may lead to cancer development over time.
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Cell Biology
- Gastroenterology
Background:
- The molecular mechanisms underlying gastric cancer development due to Helicobacter pylori infection remain incompletely understood.
- Nanomechanical insights into H. pylori infection pathophysiology are crucial for developing novel prevention, treatment, and diagnostic strategies for associated conditions like gastric ulcers and cancer.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the nanomechanical properties of H. pylori-infected gastric tissues and cells.
- To explore the cellular response to H. pylori exposure at a mechanical level.
Main Methods:
- Utilized atomic force microscopy (AFM) to measure the elastic modulus (Young's modulus) of healthy and H. pylori-positive human stomach tissues.
- Assessed the mechanical response of human gastric cells exposed to heat-treated H. pylori using AFM.
- Employed rapid urease tests and immunohistopathological staining to confirm H. pylori presence in tissue samples.
Main Results:
- Infected gastric tissues exhibit softer nanomechanical properties compared to uninfected tissues, suggesting H. pylori presence.
- Gastric cells demonstrate mechanical property modulation, partly mediated by cytoskeleton remodeling, upon exposure to H. pylori products.
Conclusions:
- Tissue nanomechanical properties could serve as potential biomarkers for H. pylori infection.
- Cellular mechanical tuning in response to H. pylori may contribute to long-term cancer development through persistent tissue property fluctuations.
Background:
the molecular mechanism of gastric cancer development related to Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection has not been fully understood, and further studies are still needed. Information regarding nanomechanical aspects of pathophysiological events that occur during H. pylori infection can be crucial in the development of new prevention, treatment, and diagnostic measures against clinical consequences associated with H. pylori infection, including gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer, and gastric cancer.
Methods:
in this study, we assessed mechanical properties of children's healthy and H. pylori positive stomach tissues and the mechanical response of human gastric cells exposed to heat-treated H. pylori cells using atomic force microscopy (AFM NanoWizard 4 BioScience JPK Instruments Bruker). Elastic modulus (i.e., the Young's modulus) was derived from the Hertz-Sneddon model applied to force-indentation curves. Human tissue samples were evaluated using rapid urease tests to identify H. pylori positive samples, and the presence of H. pylori cells in those samples was confirmed using immunohistopathological staining.
Results And Conclusion:
collected data suggest that nanomechanical properties of infected tissue might be considered as markers indicated H. pylori presence since infected tissues are softer than uninfected ones. At the cellular level, this mechanical response is at least partially mediated by cell cytoskeleton remodeling indicating that gastric cells are able to tune their mechanical properties when subjected to the presence of H. pylori products. Persistent fluctuations of tissue mechanical properties in response to H. pylori infection might, in the long-term, promote induction of cancer development.
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