A peptide of a type I toxin−antitoxin system induces <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> morphological transformation from spiral shape to coccoids
Lamya El Mortaji, Alejandro Tejada-Arranz, Aline Rifflet, Ivo G. Boneca, Gérard Pehau‐Arnaudet, J. Pablo Radicella, Stéphanie Marsin, Hilde De Reuse
Abstract
Significance Helicobacter pylori , a gastric pathogen causing 800,000 deaths in the world annually, is encountered both in vitro and in patients as spiral-shaped bacteria and as round cells named coccoids. We discovered that the toxin from a chromosomal type I toxin−antitoxin system is targeting H. pylori membrane and acting as an effector of H. pylori morphological conversion to coccoids. We show that these round cells maintain their membrane integrity and metabolism, strongly suggesting that they are viable dormant bacteria. Oxidative stress is identified as a signal inducing toxin expression and coccoid formation. Our findings reveal insights into a form of dormancy of this bacterium that might be associated with H. pylori infections refractory to treatment.