2022, Vol. 26 ›› Issue (25): 4070-4075

Impact of nicotine on stem cells

Zeng Rui, Hai Bing   

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Stem cell therapy has great clinical application potential. Stem cell donor needs to be screened for infectious and genetic diseases before implantation, but some important factors related to lifestyle are often overlooked, especially smoking. For many diseases, smoking is a risk factor. With the increasing use of e-cigarettes, nicotine exposure is becoming serious and widespread.
OBJECTIVE: To describe and analyze the effects of nicotine exposure on various types of stem cells.
METHODS: Articles were searched on PubMed and CNKI databases published between 1806 and 2021. The search terms were “nicotine, tobacco smoking, stem cells therapy, embryonic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, periodontal ligament-derived stem cells” in Chinese and English. A total of 59 articles were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria and summarized.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Nicotine activates nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in embryonic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells and periodontal membrane stem cells through a variety of mechanisms to affect their proliferation, differentiation, migration and apoptosis. At present, although the research on the effect of nicotine on stem cells is facing severe challenges, it is very necessary to study the effect of nicotine on stem cells, because “healthy stem cells” are the prerequisite for stem cell therapy.
Key words: stem cell therapy, nicotine, embryonic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, periodontal ligament-derived stem cells