Project description:Proteasome dysfunction is emerging as a novel pathomechanism for the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a major leading cause of death in the world. Cigarette smoke is one of the main risk factors for COPD and has been shown to impair proteasome function in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, proteasome activity is inhibited in COPD lungs while expression levels of proteasome subunits are not altered. In the present study, we dissected the molecular changes induced by cigarette smoke on proteasome function in lung epithelial cells and mouse lungs. We analyzed the integrity, composition, and the interactome of isolated 26S proteasome complexes from smoke-exposed cells and mouse lungs. Moreover, we applied native MS analysis to investigate whether reactive compounds of cigarette smoke directly modify and inhibit the 20S proteasome complex. Our data reveal that the 20S proteasome is slightly destabilized in the absence of any dominant modification of proteasomal proteins. 26S pulldown and stoichiometry analysis indicated that 26S proteasome complexes become instable in response to cigarette smoke exposure. Of note, the interactome of the 26S was clearly altered in smoke-exposed mouse lungs possibly reflecting an altered cellular composition in the lungs of the smoke-exposed mice. Taken together, our results suggest that cigarette smoke induces minor but detectable changes in the stability and interactome of 20S and 26S proteasome complexes which might contribute in a chronic setting to imbalanced proteostasis as observed in chronic lung diseases associated with cigarette smoking.
Project description:Pregnant mice (Dams) were exposed to cigarette smoke or filtered air. Lung tissue and RNA were harvested from the lungs of the Dams and their offspring and underwent transcriptomic analysis.
Project description:Integration of toxicological end points with molecular measurements in a 28-day rat repeated dose inhalation study with cigarette smoke provides mechanistic understanding of smoke impact
Project description:Lung cancer remains a major contributor to cancer fatalities, with cigarette smoking known to be responsible for up to 80% of cases. Based on the ability of cigarette smoke to induce inflammation in the lungs and increased lung cancer incidence in smokers with inflammatory conditions such as COPD, we hypothesized that inflammation plays an important role in carcinogenicity of cigarette smoke. In order to test this hypothesis, we performed multi-omic analyses of Type II pneumocytes of A/J mice exposed to cigarette smoke for various time periods. We found that cigarette smoke exposure resulted in significant changes in DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation, gene expression patterns, and protein abundance that were partially reversible and contributed to an inflammatory and potentially oncogenic phenotype.
Project description:Previous studies have shown that smoking induces oxidative stress and inflammation, known factors that coincide with the development and progression of silicosis. Nevertheless, the precise role of cigarette smoke exposure in silicosis and the underlying mechanisms are not clearly understood. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to determine the effect of smoking, if any, on silica-induced pulmonary response and the underlying mechanisms. Pulmonary toxicity and lung gene expression profiles were determined in male Fischer 344 rats exposed to air, crystalline silica, cigarette smoke or cigarette smoke plus crystalline silica. Silica exposure resulted in significant pulmonary toxicity which was further exacerbated by cigarette smoke exposure in the rats. Significant differences in the gene expression profiles were detected in the lungs of the rats exposed to cigarette smoke, silica or a combination of both compared with the control rats.