Identification and characterization of the pathophysiological role of nicotinic receptors in lung cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide and smoking accounts for approximately 70% of non– small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 90% of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cases, although there is a subset of patients who develop lung cancer without a history of smoking . Tobacco smoke contains multiple classes of carcinogens, and although nicotine, the addictive and most active component of tobacco smoke, is unable to initiate tumorigenesis in humans and rodents, by binding to cell-surface neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), it promotes tumour growth and metastasis by inducing cell-cycle progression, migration, invasion, angiogenesis, and evasion of apoptosis in a variety of systems In this work we have analysed lung cancer cell lines and establishing at molecular level which nicotinic receptor subtypes are expressed in lung cancer cell lines and lung cancer tissues. Moreover we have investigated the effects of nicotine in regulating cell proliferation and cell migration in lung carcinoma derived cell lines and studied the intracellular signalling of nicotine.