Helicobacter pylori causes cellular vacuolation in host cells, a cytotoxic event attributed to vacuolating cytotoxin (VacA) and the presence of permeant weak bases such as ammonia. We report here the role of γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), a constitutively expressed secretory enzyme of H. pylori, in potentiating VacA-dependent vacuolation formation in H. pylori-infected AGS and primary gastric...

introduction and aims: omeprazole is a gastric parietal cells proton pump inhibitor that is also active against h. pylori in vitro. this study was designed to examine the neutralization of h. pylori cytotoxicity on vero cells by omeprazole micronized in strains isolated from gastritis, ulcer, cancer and barrett's ulcer, to determine whether omeprazole can inhibit vacuolation of the vero cells i...

Intracellular VacA localises to the vacuolar (late endosome/lysosome) membrane, but little is known about the trafficking of the toxin beyond this region. We show that the Golgi-disturbing agent brefeldin A (BFA) enhances VacA-induced vacuolation of epithelial cells by Helicobacter pylori co-culture and, importantly, BFA treatment induces vacuolation by less toxic forms of VacA. The effect is B...

The Helicobacter pylori vacuolating cytotoxin (VacA) induces the degenerative vacuolation of mammalian cells both in vitro and in vivo. Here, we demonstrate that plasma membrane cholesterol is essential for vacuolation of mammalian cells by VacA. Vacuole biogenesis in multiple cell lines was completely blocked when cholesterol was extracted selectively from the plasma membrane by using beta-cyc...

purpose: to report the confocal microscopic features of endothelial vacuolation in donated corneas and to confirm the observed changes by transmission electron microscopy. methods: confocal and transmission electron microscopy were performed on donated corneas with endothelial vacuole formation on slitlamp biomicroscopy. the ultrastructural findings were also compared with those of a normal-loo...

The relationship between nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and Helicobacter pylori-induced gastric mucosal injury is still under debate. VacA toxin is an important H. pylori virulence factor that causes cytoplasmic vacuolation in cultured cells. Whether and how NSAIDs affect VacA-induced cytotoxicity is unclear. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of NSAIDs on H. pylori V...

The synthetic triterpenoid 2-cyano-3, 12-dioxooleana-1, 9(11)-dien-C28-methyl ester (CDDO-Me) is considered a promising anti-tumorigenic compound. In this study, we show that treatment with CDDO-Me induces progressive endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-derived vacuolation in various breast cancer cells and ultimately kills these cells by inducing apoptosis. We found that CDDO-Me-induced increases in in...

The antiapoptotic and antiautophagic abilities of cancer cells constitute a major challenge for anticancer drug treatment. Strategies for triggering nonapoptotic or nonautophagic cell death may improve therapeutic efficacy against cancer. Curcumin has been reported to exhibit cancer chemopreventive properties. Herein, we report that curcumin induced apoptosis in LNCaP, DU145, and PC-3 cells but...

Cytoplasmic vacuolation of peripheral blood leucocytes is reported in three patients with acute alcoholism. Apparently this is the first report of vacuolation of peripheral blood leucocytes associated with acute alcoholism. Apart from any direct cytotoxic effect of alcohol the metabolic acidosis and hypoglycaemia associated with acute alcoholic poisoning may be important factors in the pathogen...