Figure 1.

Changes of autophagy in gastric epithelial cells during different stages of H. pylori infection. During the acute stage of H. pylori infection, VacA and CagA secreted by H. pylori infection induce autophagy, and then autophagy degrades VacA and CagA. However, during chronic H. pylori infections, VacA and CagA inhibit autophagy, limiting the degradation of VacA and causing the accumulation of autophagy substrates. Moreover, autophagy destruction of VacA leads to the reducing degradation of CagA, which further enhances damage to host cells.