Role of glycogen synthase kinase 3 in squamous differentiation induced by cigarette smoke in porcine tracheobronchial epithelial cells

Epidemiological evidence suggests that cigarette smoke induces squamous metaplasia in human tracheobronchial epithelium that can progress to lung squamous carcinoma. But it is not well understood how tracheobronchial epithelial cells transduce the signals that mediate cigarette smoke-induced squamous differentiation or squamous metaplasia.In the present study, we found that in vitro cigarette smoke components notably inhibited glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) and induced the expression of involucrin, a marker of squamous differentiation. The inactivation of GSK3 by two highly selective inhibitors, lithium and SB216763, also significantly enhanced involucrin expression in cultured porcine tracheobronchial epithelial cells (PTBECs).Moreover, we demonstrated that cigarette smoke components significantly promoted activator protein-1 (AP-1) binding activities to the upstream regulatory region of involucrin gene, and similar results were observed by further studies through using GSK3 inhibitors to imitate the effects of cigarette smoke components. Taken together, we conclude that GSK3 is involved in involucrin expression induced by cigarette smoke in PTBEC probably via negatively regulating AP-1 activity, implying a possible mechanism responsible for squamous differentiation induced by cigarette smoke.