Helicobacter pylori infection has been considered as a risk factor for gast
ric carcinoma. Strong evidence exists that reactive oxygen species (ROS) pl
ay an important role in carcinogenesis, and in vivo investigations have sho
wn increased synthesis of ROS in the gastric mucosa of H.pylori-infected pa
tients. In the present study the direct effects of H.pylori on ROS and DNA
synthesis, induction of apoptosis and DNA repair were investigated in the g
astric epithelial cell lines AGS and HM02. Incubation of gastric cells with
H.pylori extract induced the synthesis of ROS, diminished the levels of re
duced glutathione (GSH), induced DNA fragmentation and increased DNA synthe
sis in gastric cells. Poly(ADP-ribose) formation was increased in gastric c
ells exposed to H.pylori extract. FACS analysis of gastric cells exposed to
H.pylori extract did not reveal any change in the percentage of cells in t
he G(2)/M phase of the cell cycle. The radical scavengers MnTBAP (a cell pe
rmeable superoxide dismutase mimic), ebselen (a GSH peroxidase mimic) and h
igh doses of catalase completely blocked H.pylori extract-induced elevation
in DNA synthesis. Our results indicate that H.pylori extract directly indu
ces the synthesis of ROS in gastric epithelial cells and causes DNA damage.