Hao_2026_PLoS.One_21_e0343531

INTRODUCTION: The progression of Chronic gastritis seems to follow a pattern from chronic non-atrophic gastritis (CNAG) to chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) to cancer, so it is particularly important to block key targets in disease progression. A gene that synthesizes secreted phospholipase A2, attracted our attention. OBJECTIVES: To study whether phospholipase A2 group 10 (PLA2G10) in epithelial cells promote the progression of CNAG to CAG through the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) signaling. METHODS: We used RNA microarray and single-cell RNA sequencing datasets for bioinformatics analysis. The effects of PLA2G10 were verified by in vivo and in vitro experiments. The in vivo experiments used SD rats to establish a CNAG model for PLA2G10 and TGF-beta intervention to observe the effects on gastric mucosal inflammation. In vitro experiments were conducted using human gastric mucosal epithelial cells (GES-1) for similar interventions. RESULTS: PLA2G10 inhibition led to the downregulation of TGF-beta expression and attenuated the inflammatory response of the gastric mucosa. And the blockade of TGF-beta signalling delayed the progression of CNAG to CAG, as evidenced by a reduction in inflammatory cell infiltration, a more regular cellular arrangement, and a reduction in collagen deposition. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that PLA2G10 plays a key role in the progression of chronic gastritis and highlights the important role played by the TGF-beta signalling pathway in this process.