Role of Gastric Stem Cells in Gastric Carcinogenesis by Chronic <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> Infection

Park, Moo In; Heo, Jeonghoon

doi:2015.15.3.155

Korean J Helicobacter Up Gastrointest Res > Volume 15(3); 2015 > Article

Review

The Korean Journal of Helicobacter and Upper Gastrointestinal Research 2015;15(3):155-159.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7704/kjhugr.2015.15.3.155 Published online September 10, 2015.

Role of Gastric Stem Cells in Gastric Carcinogenesis by Chronic Helicobacter pylori Infection

Moo In Park, Jeonghoon Heo

¹Department of Internal Medicine, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
²Department of Molecular Biology and Immunology, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea. jeonghoonheo@kosin.ac.kr
³Institute for Medical Science, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.

만성 Helicobacter pylori 감염에 의한 위암발생에서 위줄기세포의 역할

박무인¹, 허정훈^2,3

고신대학교 의과대학 내과학교실¹, 고신대학교 의과대학 분자생물면역학교실², 고신대학교 의과학연구소³

Abstract

Gastric cancer is a disease with the second cancer-related mortality in the world. Helicobacter pylori infection that is one of major causes of gastric carcinogenesis induces a chronic inflammation in stomach. The epithelial-mesenchymal transition and/or the accumulation of genetic mutation occur during regenerating the injured gastric epithelial cells due to chronic inflammation by the infection of H. pylori. Normal gastric cells can be transformed into cancer stem cells by the epithelial-mesenchymal transition and/or the accumulation of genetic mutation that initiate the development of gastric cancer. Gastric epithelial cells, bone marrow-derived cells and gastric stem cells in gastric tissue might be the source of gastric cancer stem cells as the target cells that might be susceptible for epithelial-mesenchymal transition and/or the accumulation of genetic mutation. Normal stem cells in gastric tissue regenerating the injured gastric tissue also have the potential to be cancer stem cells known as the origin of cancer development when their ability for regulating differentiation and/or proliferation of normal stem cells is damaged by epithelial-mesenchymal transition and/or the accumulation of genetic mutation. Therefore if the mechanism regulating the transformation of normal stem cells to cancer stem cells is discovered, it might suggest the fundamental therapeutic strategy for preventing the development of gastric cancer by the chronic infection of H. pylori.

Key Words: Helicobacter pylori; Chronic inflammation; Epithelial-mesenchymal transition; Gastric stem cells; Cancer stem cells