U54 Pilot: Filtered Cigar Toxicity: Generation of Oxidative Stress and Pro-Inflammatory Factors

Abstract Filtered Cigar Toxicity: Generation of Oxidative Stress and Pro-In?ammatory Factors PI David Orren Filtered cigars are a category of tobacco products di erent than cigarillos and large cigars. Many consumers of ?ltered cigars inhale tobacco smoke into the lungs like cigarettes, unlike smoke from cigarillos and large cigars. At least a third of US ?ltered cigar users don’t even recognize these products are di erent than conventional cigarettes. These factors have increased the sales and presumably consumption of ?ltered cigars since 2009. Risk for dual use of these ?ltered cigars, along with cigarettes or other tobacco products, would seem to be high. Our previous research demonstrated that treatment of human bronchial epithelial cells with cigarette smoke condensates signi?cantly increases both oxidative stress that leads to an epithelial-to mesenchymal transition and transcription of several factors including IL1 that promote immune cell recruitment. Reference ?ltered cigar condensates have similar broad e ects on these cells suggesting that oxidative stress and transcription of pro-in?ammatory cytokines occurs with these condensates. In this project, we will use human lung and oral cell lines to examine the toxicity of two reference and twelve commercial ?ltered cigars compared (based on ?ller weight and nicotine delivery) with that of the reference and four conventional cigarettes. Our focus here will be on measuring oxidative stress levels and transcription and secretion of pro-in?ammatory cytokines which, in turn, mediate in?ux of immune cells and promote damage to lung and oral tissues. Based on our previous results with reference ?ltered cigars and cigarettes, we expect that exposure of certain lung and oral cell types to tobacco smoke from reference and commercial ?ltered cigars will increase oxidative stress and increase transcription of pro-in?ammatory cytokines. We expect that these biomarkers will be as high for some commercial ?ltered cigars compared to reference and commercial cigarettes.