TAZ Controls <i>Helicobacter pylori</i>-Induced Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition and Cancer Stem Cell-Like Invasive and Tumorigenic Properties

• Main Authors: Camille Tiffon, Julie Giraud, Silvia Elena Molina-Castro, Sara Peru, Lornella Seeneevassen, Elodie Sifré, Cathy Staedel, Emilie Bessède, Pierre Dubus, Francis Mégraud, Philippe Lehours, Océane C.B. Martin, Christine Varon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-06-01
• Series: Cells
• Subjects: gastric cancer; <i>Helicobacter pylori</i>; hippo pathway; ZEB1; epithelial–mesenchymal transition; TAZ
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/9/6/1462

<i>Helicobacter pylori</i> infection, the main risk factor for gastric cancer (GC), leads to an epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) of gastric epithelium contributing to gastric cancer stem cell (CSC) emergence. The Hippo pathway effectors yes-associated protein (YAP) and transcriptional co-activator with PDZ binding motif (TAZ) control cancer initiation and progression in many cancers including GC. Here, we investigated the role of TAZ in the early steps of <i>H. pylori</i>-mediated gastric carcinogenesis. TAZ implication in EMT, invasion, and CSC-related tumorigenic properties were evaluated in three gastric epithelial cell lines infected by <i>H. pylori</i>. We showed that <i>H. pylori</i> infection increased TAZ nuclear expression and transcriptional enhancer TEA domain (TEAD) transcription factors transcriptional activity. Nuclear TAZ and zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) were co-overexpressed in cells harboring a mesenchymal phenotype in vitro, and in areas of regenerative hyperplasia in gastric mucosa of <i>H. pylori</i>-infected patients and experimentally infected mice, as well as at the invasive front of gastric carcinoma. TAZ silencing reduced ZEB1 expression and EMT phenotype, and strongly inhibited invasion and tumorsphere formation induced by <i>H. pylori</i>. In conclusion, TAZ activation in response to <i>H. pylori</i> infection contributes to <i>H. pylori</i>-induced EMT, invasion, and CSC-like tumorigenic properties. TAZ overexpression in <i>H. pylori</i>-induced pre-neoplastic lesions and in GC could therefore constitute a biomarker of early transformation in gastric carcinogenesis.