Helicobacter pylori promotes gastric cancer progression by upregulating semaphorin 5A expression via ERK/MMP9 signaling.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is the strongest risk factor for the occurrence and development of gastric carcinoma. However, the molecular mechanism underlying H. pylori-induced pathogenesis has not yet been fully characterized. Here, we explored whether H. pylori upregulates semaphorin 5A to promote gastric cancer progression via the extracellular regulated protein kinases/matrix metalloproteinase (ERK/MMP9) signaling pathway. In this study, H. pylori upregulated semaphorin 5A expression in vitro and in vivo. Using the human gastric carcinoma cell lines SGC7901, SGC7901-siScrambled, and SGC7901-siSema 5A, our studies showed that H. pylori increased the proliferation, growth, migration, and invasiveness of gastric cancer cells via its effects on semaphorin 5A and that H. pylori increased the expression of MMP9 in gastric cancer cells via the semaphorin 5A-mediated ERK signaling pathway. Further analysis revealed that the ERK inhibitor PD98059 and MMP9 antibody (Ab) attenuated H. pylori-induced gastric cancer cell invasion and metastasis in vitro through a semaphorin 5A-dependent mechanism. In conclusion, H. pylori could promote gastric cancer progression in a semaphorin 5A-dependent manner via the ERK/MMP9 signaling pathway. Semaphorin 5A and its related signaling molecules potentially represent latent targets for H. pylori-related gastric cancer therapy.