Cigarette Smoking Condensate Disrupts Endoplasmic Reticulum-Golgi Network Homeostasis Through GOLPH3 Expression in Normal Lung Epithelial Cells

Introduction: Cigarette smoke (CS) is associated with a broad range of diseases including lung cancer. Many researchers have suggested that cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) may be more toxic compared to cigarette smoke extract (CSE) because CSC contains the lipid-soluble faction of smoke while CSE contains the hydrophilic or gas phase. The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of CSC on the disruption of endoplasmic reticulum (ER)–Golgi homeostasis in normal lung epithelial cells. Methods: CS was generated according to the ISO 3308 method. To ascertain the mechanistic effects of CSC on lung toxicity, normal lung epithelial cells of the cell line 16HBE14o- were treated with CSC (0.1mg/mL) for 48 hours. The toxic effects of CSC on ER–Golgi homeostasis and GOLPH3 expression were observed through diverse molecular tools including transmission electron microscope analysis. Results: Our results demonstrated that CSC treatment increased reactive oxygen species generation in lung cells and led to the alteration of ER–Golgi homeostasis in conjunction with increased autophagy. In particular, GOLPH3, known as an oncogene and a marker protein for the trans-Golgi network, was upregulated in CSC-treated cells. GOLPH3 protein overexpression was also confirmed in the lungs of human lung cancer patients as well as NNK-treated mice. Conclusion: Our study revealed that CSC caused lung damage through the disruption of ER–Golgi homeostasis and autophagy induction. The expression level of the trans-Golgi marker protein GOLPH3 could serve as a reliable bio-indicator for CS-related lung cancer. Implications: CS is a harmful factor in the development of many diseases including cancer. In this research, we demonstrated that CSC treatment led to malfunction of the ER–Golgi network, with the disrupted ER and Golgi causing GOLPH3 overexpression and abnormal autophagy accumulation. In addition, although the value of GOLPH3 as a predictor remains to be fully elucidated, our data suggest that GOLPH3 levels may be a novel prognostic biomarker of tobacco related lung disease