두경부편평세포암종에서 니코틴의 약제내성 유발과 대책 : KB 세포주 및 betulinic acid를 중심으로

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of smoking on cancer chemotherapy and also clarify the effect of betulinic acid as a chemosensitizer. The author checked the apoptotic pathway after treatment of nicotine, and compared the effect of anticancer drugs such as cisplatin and etoposide in the presence or absence of nicotine in oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) KB cell line. Moreover, the author assessed the combination chemotherapeutic effect of betulinic acid with well-known chemotherapeutics in the presence or absence of nicotine. Nicotine induces Bad phosphorylation in association with suppression of apoptosis in KB cells. The inhibition rate of KB cells co-treated with anticancer drugs and nicotine was significantly decreased compared to anticancer drug only treated group. However, chemoresistance caused by nicotine was subjugated by combination of betulinic acid and chemotherapeutics. To sum up these results, the author could expect that nicotine may involved the chemoresistance and carcinogenesis via anti-apoptotic pathway in SCC, and chemotherapy for the SCC should be done in the absence of nicotine in the patients' blood. Moreover, betulinic acid could be an useful chemosensitizer to treat SCC or to overcome nicotine-induced chemoresistance in SCC.