Pathogenicity island-dependent effects of Helicobacter pylori on intracellular signal transduction in epithelial cells

Helicobacter pylori is a microbial pathogen that colonises the stomach of more than half of the world's human population. H. pylori infection can induce chronic gastritis, peptic ulceration and more rarely, gastric adenocarcinoma. A prominent feature of H. pylori is the presence of a pathogenicity island (PAI) which encodes a type IV secretion system (T4SS). This review focuses on the processes of how H. pylori induces PAI-dependent epithelial cell signalling that might be of importance in gastric inflammation and the pathogenesis of neoplasia.