Localized Suppression of Inflammation at Sites of Helicobacter pylori Colonization
ABSTRACTWhile gastric adenocarcinoma is the most serious consequence ofHelicobacter pyloriinfection, not all infected persons develop this pathology. Individuals most at risk of this cancer are those in whom the bacteria colonize the acid-secreting region of the stomach and subsequently develop severe inflammation in the gastric corpus. It has been reported anecdotally that male mice become infected with greater numbers ofH. pyloribacteria than female mice. While investigating this phenomenon, we found that increasedH. pyloriinfection densities in male mice were not related to antibody production, and this phenomenon was not normalized by gonadectomy. However, the gastric pH in male 129/Sv mice was significantly elevated compared with that in female mice. Differences in colonization were evident within 1 day postinfection and significantly arose due to colonization of the gastric corpus region in male mice. This provided a potential model for comparing the effect of corpus colonization on the development of gastritis. This was explored using two models ofH. pylori-induced inflammation, namely, 2-month infections ofMuc1−/−mice and 6-month infections of wild-type 129/Sv mice. WhileH. pyloriinfection of female mice induced a severe, corpus-predominant atrophic gastritis, to our surprise, male mice developed minimal inflammation despite being colonized with significantly moreH. pyloribacteria than female controls. Thus, colonization of the gastric corpus in male mice was associated with a loss of inflammation in that region. The suppression of inflammation concomitant with infection of the gastric corpus in male mice demonstrates a powerful localized suppression of inflammation induced at sites ofH. pyloricolonization.