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Interactions between ethanol and cigarette smoke in a mouse lung carcinogenesis model
Roumen Balansky1, Gancho Ganchev2, Marietta Iltcheva2
1National Center of Oncology, Str. Plovdivsko pole 6, Sofia, 1756, Bulgaria; Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Via A. Pastore 1, 16132 Genoa, Italy.
Toxicology
|November 15, 2016
Summary
Ethanol exposure during pregnancy and after birth caused liver damage and lung issues in mice. However, it also reduced some harmful effects of cigarette smoke on the respiratory system.
Area of Science:
- Toxicology
- Carcinogenesis
- Respiratory Medicine
Background:
- Ethanol and cigarette smoke are human carcinogens with synergistic effects, particularly in the upper aerodigestive tract.
- Understanding their combined impact on the respiratory tract, considering prenatal and postnatal exposure, is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the individual and combined effects of ethanol and cigarette smoke exposure on the respiratory tract in mouse models.
- To assess clastogenic and histopathological alterations following transplacental and/or postnatal exposure.
Main Methods:
- Swiss H mice were exposed to oral ethanol and/or inhaled mainstream cigarette smoke for up to 4 months.
- Exposure occurred at various prenatal and postnatal life stages.
- Clastogenic effects were assessed in peripheral blood erythrocytes, and histopathological alterations were evaluated in lung tissues.
Main Results:
- Ethanol alone showed no clastogenic effects but caused liver damage and lung pro-angiogenesis (blood vessel proliferation) in mice exposed pre- and postnatally.
- These mice also developed pulmonary emphysema, alveolar epithelial hyperplasias, microadenomas, and benign tumors.
- Concurrently, ethanol significantly attenuated smoke-induced respiratory lesions, including hyperplasia, microadenomas, malignant tumors, and clastogenicity.
Conclusions:
- While ethanol exhibits pulmonary toxicity, preclinical data suggest it can mitigate certain detrimental effects of cigarette smoke in the respiratory tract.
- This indicates a complex interaction between ethanol and smoke exposure relevant to respiratory health.
