Aspects of the design protocol and the statistical methods for analysis of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide yields in cigarette smoke that can affect the measurement variability within collaborative studies

Molecularly imprinted polymers on a silica surface for the adsorption of tobacco-specific nitrosamines in mainstream cigarette smoke

Tobacco-specific nitrosamines are one of the most important groups of carcinogens in tobacco products. Using adsorbents as filter additives is an effective way to reduce tobacco-specific nitrosamines in cigarette smoke. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) using nicotinamide as template were grafted on the silica gel surface to obtain MIP@SiO2 and employed as filter additives to absorb tobacco-specific nitrosamines in mainstream cigarette smoke. Four milligrams of MIP@SiO2 per cigarette was added to the interface between filter and tobacco rod to prepare a binary filter system. The mainstream smoke was collected on an industry-standard Cambridge filter pad and extracted with ammonium acetate aqueous solution before analysis. Compared to the cigarette smoke of the control group, the levels of tobacco-specific nitrosamines with silica gel and with MIP@SiO2 were both reduced, and the adsorption rates of N-nitrosonornicotine, N-nitrosoanabasine, N-nitrosoanatabine, and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridine)-1-butanone with silica gel and with MIP@SiO2 were 20.76, 15.32, 18.79, and 18.01%, and 41.33, 34.04, 37.86, and 35.53%, respectively. Furthermore the content of total particle materials in cigarette smoke with silica gel was decreased evidently but showed no observable change with MIP@SiO2 . It indicated MIP@SiO2 could selectively reduce tobacco-specific nitrosamines in the mainstream cigarette smoke with no change to the cigarette flavor.

Cigarette smoke adversely affects functions and cell membrane integrity in c-kit+ cardiac stem cells

Cigarette smoking is a major risk factor for numerous diseases including cardiovascular diseases. Exposure to cigarette smoke (CS) leads to increased cardiovascular risk, myocardial injury, and mortality. Stem cell therapy is one of the promising therapeutic options available to treat myocardial injuries. Understanding the impact of cigarette smoke extract (CSE) on stem cell function would be valuable in determining the risk passed on during transplant. In this study, the impact of CSE on cardiac stem cell (CSC) functions was investigated using c-kit+ rat cardiac stem cells as the experimental model. Here, we hypothesized that CSE attenuates CSC membrane integrity, causes cytotoxicity, and affects many CSC functions via multiple mechanisms including modulation of extracellular stress-regulated kinase (ERK) (44/42) signaling and oxidative stress. The effects of CSE on CSCs were examined in vitro. Based on a published method, CSE was prepared. CSE-induced ERK signaling was detected by western blotting. CSE-induced modulation of catalase activity was also measured. Functional modulations due to CSE were examined via several methods including Apostain, BrdU, and LDH assays. In agreement with the CSE-induced activation of ERK, CSE-induced reduction in viability, migration, and increase in both cytotoxicity and para-cellular permeability were observed in CSCs. These results suggest that CSE impaired CSC responses that contribute to decreased ability of CSC to respond to stress or injury leading to exacerbation of the damage. Our findings will contribute to the understanding of the discipline and might contribute to the development of stem cell therapy approaches in the future.