Tobacco smoke contains various carcinogenic ingredients such as nicotine, acrolein, and benzopyrene; however, their effects on cancer treatment are not fully understood. Claudin-1 (CLDN1), a component of tight junctions, is involved in the increased resistance to anticancer drugs. In this study, we found that acrolein increases the mRNA and protein levels of CLDN1 in RERF-LC-AI cells derived from human lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Acrolein increased the p-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 levels without affecting the p-Akt level. The acrolein-induced elevation of CLDN1 expression was attenuated by U0126, a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinas (MEK) inhibitor. These results indicate that the activation of MEK/ERK pathway is involved in the acrolein-induced elevation of CLDN1 expression. In a spheroid model, acrolein suppressed the accumulation and toxicity of doxorubicin (DXR), which were rescued by CLDN1 silencing. The acrolein-induced effects were also observed in lung SCC-derived EBC-1 and LK-2 cells. Acrolein also increased the expression level of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), a transcription factor that regulates antioxidant and detoxifying genes, which were inhibited by CLDN1 silencing. In spheroid cells, the levels of reactive oxygen species were enhanced by acrolein, which was inhibited by CLDN1 silencing. Taken together, acrolein may reduce the anticancer drug-induced toxicity in human lung SCC cells mediated by high CLDN1 expression followed by the upregulation of Nrf2 signaling pathway.
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