title: Nicotine induces resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor by α1 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor-mediated activation in PC9 cells.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nicotine, the major component among the 4000 identified chemicals in cigarette smoke, binds to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) on non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells and regulates cellular proliferation by activating mitogen-activated protein kinases [AQ: MAPK has been expanded to mitogen-activated protein kinases. Please approve.]and PI3K/Akt pathways. In patients with smoking-related lung cancer who continue smoking, the anticancer effect of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) is weaker than that in nonsmokers; however, the precise reason for this difference remains unclear. We investigated the role of α1 nAChR subunit in this phenomenon.
  
  
  METHODS
  We screened for α1 nAChR mRNA in three NSCLC cell lines and analyzed the protein in resected primary NSCLC tissues. We used Western blot and RNA interference (siRNA) methodology to confirm the results.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We determined that α1 nAChR plays an essential role in nicotine-induced cell signaling and nicotine-induced resistance to EGFR-TKI. In addition, we showed that silencing of α1 nAChR subunit in NSCLC may suppress the nicotine-induced resistance to EGFR-TKI.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results further implicate nicotine in lung carcinogenesis, and suggest that α1 nAChR may be a biomarker for EGFR-TKI treatment and also a personalizing target molecule for patients with smoking-related lung cancer.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Diseases of the Chest, Department of Pathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Shuo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takayama
authors.forename: Kentaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Masafumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takeshita
authors.forename: Noriaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nakagaki
authors.forename: Kayo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ijichi
authors.forename: Heyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yoichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakanishi
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / Q000187:drug effects*; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009538:Nicotine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010766:Phosphorylation; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D055752:Small Cell Lung Carcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic; D009538:Nicotine; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D066246:ErbB Receptors; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases