Helicobacter pylori promotes the secretion of cytokines that regulate inflammation and carcinogenesis. Immune cells secrete cytokines into the extracellular medium or packaged in exosomes. The objective of this study was to analyze the profile of soluble and exosomal cytokines that were secreted by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) that were infected with H. pylori and to build a network of interaction between cytokines and cellular proteins. PBMCs were obtained by density gradient centrifugation and infected with H. pylori for 24 h. The infection was verified by immunofluorescence and Western blot for CagA. The exosomes were obtained from culture supernatant by ultracentrifugation and characterized by transmission electron microscopy, particle size analysis, and Western blot for CD9 and CD81. Cytokines were quantified using a multiplex immunoassay in the culture supernatant, intact exosomes, and lysed exosomes. H. pylori adheres to lymphocytes and translocates CagA. In PBMCs, H. pylori induces an increase in the soluble and exosomal IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-10, IL-17A, IL-21, and IL-22. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network shows that soluble and exosomal cytokines interact with proteins that participate in signaling pathways such as NF-κB, MAPK, PI3K-Akt, Jak-STAT, FoxO, and mTOR, that are related to carcinogenesis; moreover, TNF-α had the highest number of interactions. Cytokine-loaded exosomes represent another means of intercellular communication that is activated by H. pylori to stimulate inflammation, carcinogenesis, or cancer progression. Cytokine-loaded exosomes are likely to be associated with extragastrointestinal diseases of inflammatory origin.
Keywords: Helicobacter pylori; PBMCs; carcinogenesis; cytokines; exosomes; inflammation.