Benzopyrene promotes lung cancer A549 cell migration and invasion through up-regulating cytokine IL8 and chemokines CCL2 and CCL3 expression

Tobacco-sourced carcinogen including benzopyrene (B[a]P) in lung cancer metastasis has not been fully reported. In this study, lung carcinoma A549 cell line was used to investigate the potential roles of tobacco-sourced B[a]P on cell metastasis and invasion and to assess its underlying mechanism. Effects of tobacco-sourced carcinogen on A549 cell proliferation, metastasis, and invasion were analyzed using MTT assay, Transwell assay, and scratch method, respectively. The effects of tobacco-sourced carcinogen on cytokines and chemokines secretion were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Moreover, correlation between inflammatory factor expression and cancer cell migration and invasion was assessed using siRNA-mediated gene silencing. Data showed that both B[a]P and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone either at high or low dose performed no significant difference on A549 cell proliferation with time increasing. 4-(Methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone performed no significant difference on A549 cell migration and invasion while B[a]P significantly increased A549 cell migration and invasion compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Consequently, except for IL-6, IL-8, CCL-2, and CCL-3, secretions were significantly increased by B[a]P treatment compared to the control (P < 0.05). Furthermore, when CCL-2 and CCL-3 were silenced, the migrated and invasive A549 cells were significantly decreased compared to the control, respectively (P < 0.05), while silenced IL-8 drastically decreased the migrated and invasive cells compared to the control (P < 0.01). Taken together, this study illustrated that there may be significant correlation between smoking and lung cancer metastasis. B[a]P maybe an excellent contributor for lung cancer metastasis through up-regulating IL-8, CCL-2, and CCL-3 expression.