H. pylori infection inhibits autophagy to aggravate DNA damage by p62-mediated Rad51 ubiquitination

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is the strongest known risk factor for gastric carcinogenesis. DNA damage response (DDR) and autophagy play key roles in tumorigenic transformation. However, it remains unclear how H. pylori infection modulate DNA damage and autophagy. Here we report that H. pylori infection promotes DNA damage via suppression of Rad51 expression through inhibition of autophagy and accumulation of p62 in gastric carcinogenesis. We find that H. pylori infection caused alteration of DDR pathway and autophagy in gastric cells and Mongolian gerbils in a CagA-dependent manner. Moreover, loss of autophagy led to promotion of DNA damage in H. pylori-infected cells. Furthermore, knockdown of autophagic substrate p62 upregulated Rad51 expression, and p62 promoted ubiquitination of Rad51 via the direct interaction of the UBA domain with Rad51. Finally, H. pylori infection was associated with elevated levels of p62 in gastric intestinal metaplasia and decreased levels of Rad51 in dysplasia compared to their H. pylori- counterparts. Our findings provide a novel mechanism into the linkage of H. pylori infection, autophagy, DNA damage and gastric tumorigenesis.