Helicobacter pylori antigenic Lpp20 is a structural homologue of Tipα and promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition

Background: Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium that affects about 50% of the world population and, despite being often asymptomatic, it is responsible of several gastric diseases, from gastritis to gastric cancer. The protein Lpp20 (HP1456) plays an important role in bacterium survival and host colonization, but the possibility that it might be involved in the etiology of H. pylori-related disorders is an unexplored issue. Lpp20 is a lipoprotein bound to the external membrane of the bacterium, but it is also secreted inside vesicles along with other two proteins of the same operon, i.e. HP1454 and HP1457. Results: In this study we determined the crystal structure of Lpp20 and we found that it has a fold similar to a carcinogenic factor released by H. pylori, namely Tipα. We demonstrate that Lpp20 promotes cell migration and E-cadherin down-regulation in gastric cancer cells, two events recalling the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) process. Differently from Tipα, Lpp20 also stimulates cell proliferation. Conclusions: This identifies Lpp20 as a new pathogenic factor produced by H. pylori that promotes EMT and thereby the progression of cancer to the metastatic state.