Cigarette smoke extract induces the proliferation of normal human urothelial cells through the NF-κB pathway.

Bladder cancer is a common genitourinary malignant disease worldwide. Convincing evidence shows that cigarette smoke (CS) is a crucial risk factor for bladder cancer, yet the role of the NF-κB signaling pathway in the development of CS-associated bladder cancer has not been fully elucidated.

In the present study, we found that exposure to cigarette smoke extract (CSE) induced proliferation and triggered the transition of normal human urothelial cells from G1 to S phase. Moreover, CSE exposure enhanced the expression of cyclin D1 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and decreased the expression of p21 in SV-HUC-1 cells. Furthermore, the levels of nuclear NF-κB p65/p50 were significantly elevated by CSE. Pre-treatment with the NF-κB inhibitor (PDTC) reversed CSE-triggered cell proliferation. Taken together, our study revealed that CSE induced proliferation of normal human urothelial cells through the NF-κB pathway, and these data enhance our understanding of the CSE-related carcinogenesis of bladder cancer.

Oncology reports. 2016 Feb 16 [Epub ahead of print]

Qi-Fei Deng, Xin Sun, Zhao-Feng Liang, Zhi-Qiang Zhang, De-Xin Yu, Cai-Yun Zhong

Department of Urology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230032, P.R. China., Department of Urology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230032, P.R. China., Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211166, P.R. China., Department of Urology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230032, P.R. China., Department of Urology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230032, P.R. China., Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211166, P.R. China.