Effects of Morphologic Conversion of Helicobacter pylori on the Production of Interleukin -8 in Gastric Epithelial Cells

Lee, Me Hwa; Jung, Hwoon Yong; Yang, Suk Kyun; Kim, Hae Ryun; Min, Young Il; Lee, Hak Sung; Kim, Hae Won; Hong, Weon Seon

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Interleukin-8 (IL-8) has been reported to play a critical role in Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)-associated gastric mucosal damage. H. pylori exist in both bacillary and coccoid forms in the stomach. In contrast to bacillary forms, it is not clear whether coccoid forms stimulate gastric epithelial cells to produce IL-8. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of coccoid forms on IL-8 production.
METHODS
H. pylori strains of ATCC 43504, ATCC 43526 and three clinical isolates were used in the present study. Coccoid forms were induced by culturing bacillary forms of H. pylori for more than 84 hr. After co-culture of two human gastric adenocarcinoma cel lines (KATO III and AGS) with five strains of H. pylori, the levels of IL-8 were determined in th supernatants by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.
RESULTS
The levels of IL-8 in KATO III and AGS cells were markedly elevated up to 6-9 hr after co-culture with the bacillary forms. The IL-8 levels produced in both cell lines by the coccoid forms were significantly lower than those by the bacillary forms in all strains.
CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that coccoid forms are much less implicated in IL-8- mediated gastric mucosal damage than bacillary forms.