Helicobacter pylori vesicles carrying CagA localize in the vicinity of cell-cell contacts and induce histone H1 binding to ATP in epithelial cells.

Helicobacter pylori produces outer membrane vesicles (OMV), delivering bacterial substances including the oncogenic cytotoxin-associated CagA protein to their surroundings. We investigated the effects of H. pylori OMV carrying CagA (OMV-CagA) on cell junctions and ATP-binding proteome of epithelial monolayers, using proteomics, mass spectrometry and imaging. OMV-CagA localized in close vicinity of ZO-1 tight junction protein and induced histone H1 binding to ATP. We suggest the expression of novel events in the interactions between H. pylori OMV and epithelia, which may have an influence on host gene transcription and lead to different outcomes of an infection and development of cancer.