Effects of Cigarette Smoke and Opium on the Expression of CD9, CD36, and CD68 at mRNA and Protein Levels in Human Macrophage Cell Line THP-1.

Cigarette smoking and opium use are risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD). It has been known that scavenger receptors such as CD36 and CD68 play critical roles in the pathogenesis of CAD. CD9, as a member of the tetraspanin, has been shown to interact with scavenger receptors. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of these risk factors on expression levels of CD9, CD36, and CD68 on the THP-1 cell line. The THP-1 cell line treated with cigarette smoke extract (CSE( and opium, both individually and combinatory, in 24 h incubation. The protein and mRNA levels of CD9, CD36, and CD68 were evaluated by flow cytometry and quantitative reverse transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) techniques, respectively. CD36 and CD68 mRNA and protein expression levels were significantly increased in the cells treated with cigarette smoke extract compared to the control (p<0.001 in mRNA expression levels and p=0.016 and p=0.012 in protein expression levels, respectively). The CSE increased the level of CD9 protein expression compared to the control group (p=0.041) on the human macrophage cell line THP-1. No significant differences were observed in the CD9, CD36, and CD68 gene expression and at the protein levels between opium-treated THP-1 cells and controls. In conclusion, cigarettes by increasing the levels of CD36, CD68, and CD9 can be a risk factor in the development of many inflammatory diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung carcinoma.

Opium use during pregnancy and risk of preterm delivery: A population-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Use of narcotic or "recreational" drugs has been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preterm delivery. However, the associations might be confounded by other factors related to high-risk behaviours. This is the first study to investigate the association between traditional opium use during pregnancy and risk of preterm delivery. METHOD AND FINDINGS: We performed a population-based cohort study in the rural areas of the Golestan province, Iran between 2008 and 2010. We randomly selected 920 women who used (usually smoked) opium during pregnancy and 920 women who did not. Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the associations between the opium use during pregnancy and preterm delivery and adjustment was made for potential confounding factors. This study shows compared with non-use of opium and tobacco, use of only opium during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of preterm delivery (OR = 1.56; 95% CI 1.05-2.32), and the risk was more than two-fold increased among dual users of opium and tobacco (OR = 2.31; 95% CI 1.37-3.90). We observed that opium use only was associated with a doubled risk for preterm caesarean delivery (OR = 2.05; 95% CI 1.10-3.82) but not for preterm vaginal delivery (OR = 1.25; 95% CI 0.75-2.07). Dual use of opium and tobacco was associated with a substantially increased risk of vaginal preterm delivery (OR = 2.58; 95% CI 1.41-4.71). CONCLUSIONS: Opium use during pregnancy among non-tobacco smokers is associated with an increased risk of preterm caesarean delivery, indicating an increased risk of a compromised foetus before or during labour. Women who use both opium and smoked during pregnancy have an increased risk of preterm vaginal delivery, indicating an increased risk of spontaneous preterm delivery.