Variability of antioxidant-related gene expression in the airway epithelium of cigarette smokers.
| Publication Type | Academic Article |
| Authors | Hackett N, Heguy A, Harvey B, O'Connor T, Luettich K, Flieder D, Kaplan R, Crystal R |
| Journal | Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue | 3 Pt 1 |
| Pagination | 331-43 |
| Date Published | 04/17/2003 |
| ISSN | 1044-1549 |
| Keywords | Antioxidants, Epithelium, Gene Expression, Lung, Smoking |
| Abstract | Cigarette smoking is the major risk factor for developing chronic bronchitis, yet only 15-20% of smokers develop this disorder. Because oxidants are the major mechanism of smoking-induced airway damage, we hypothesized that smoking is associated with upregulation of various antioxidant-related genes in the airway epithelium, but the magnitude of the response shows high inter-individual variability. Microarray analysis was used to assess levels of expression of 44 antioxidant-related genes in four categories (catalase/superoxide dismutase family; glutathione metabolism; redox balance; and pentose phosphate cycle) in bronchoscopy-obtained airway epithelium of matched cohorts (13 current smokers, 9 nonsmokers), none of whom had lung disease. There was minimal variation in gene expression levels within the same individual (right versus left lung or over time), but significant upregulation of 16/44 antioxidant-related genes in smoker epithelium compared with nonsmokers. Subgroups of smokers were identified with clusters of expression levels of antioxidant-related genes. We propose that the antioxidant-related genes demonstrating the most variability in the level of expression in smokers may be useful genetic markers in epidemiologic studies assessing susceptibility to smoking-induced chronic bronchitis. |
| DOI | 10.1165/rcmb.2002-0321OC |
| PubMed ID | 12702543 |