Streptococcus mitis induces conversion of Helicobacter pylori to coccoid cells during co-culture in vitro

PLoS One. 2014 Nov 11;9(11):e112214. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112214. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a major gastric pathogen that has been associated with humans for more than 60,000 years. H. pylori causes different gastric diseases including dyspepsia, ulcers and gastric cancers. Disease development depends on several factors including the infecting H. pylori strain, environmental and host factors. Another factor that might influence H. pylori colonization and diseases is the gastric microbiota that was overlooked for long because of the belief that human stomach was a hostile environment that cannot support microbial life. Once established, H. pylori mainly resides in the gastric mucosa and interacts with the resident bacteria. How these interactions impact on H. pylori-caused diseases has been poorly studied in human. In this study, we analyzed the interactions between H. pylori and two bacteria, Streptococcus mitis and Lactobacillus fermentum that are present in the stomach of both healthy and gastric disease human patients. We have found that S. mitis produced and released one or more diffusible factors that induce growth inhibition and coccoid conversion of H. pylori cells. In contrast, both H. pylori and L. fermentum secreted factors that promote survival of S. mitis during the stationary phase of growth. Using a metabolomics approach, we identified compounds that might be responsible for the conversion of H. pylori from spiral to coccoid cells. This study provide evidences that gastric bacteria influences H. pylori physiology and therefore possibly the diseases this bacterium causes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Coculture Techniques
  • Gastric Mucosa / microbiology*
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome
  • Helicobacter Infections / microbiology*
  • Helicobacter pylori / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Limosilactobacillus fermentum / physiology*
  • Streptococcus mitis / physiology*

Grants and funding

This work was supported by University of Malaya-Ministry of Higher Education, UM-MOHE, High Impact Research (HIR) grant UM.C/625/1/HIR/MOHE/CHAN-02; account no. A000002-50001, “Molecular Genetics”. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.