There has been an increase in the usage of heat-not-burn (HNB) cigarette products. However, their effects on alveolar epithelial cells (AECs) remain unknown. AECs are the target cells of conventional cigarette smoking-related respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and lung cancer whose pathogenesis involves oxidative stress. In this study, primary rat AECs were isolated, cultured and stimulated by HNB cigarette smoke extract (CSE). Our data indicate that rat AECs exposed to HNB CSE induced oxidative stress response genes (e.g. Hmox-1, Gsta1, Gsta3 and Nqo1). We also compared the oxidative stress response between two different types of AECs, alveolar type I-like (ATI-like) cells and type II (ATII) cells, and between two different types of cigarette, HNB cigarettes and conventional cigarettes. The expressions of Gsta1, Gsta3 and Nqo1 were higher in ATII cells than ATI-like cells in response to HNB and conventional cigarettes, but there was no significant difference in their expression levels between HNB cigarette and conventional cigarette. Taken together, our results suggest that HNB cigarettes have the similar potential as conventional cigarette products to induce oxidative stress response in AECs.

加热不燃烧（HNB）卷烟产品的使用有所增加。然而，它们对肺泡上皮细胞（AEC）的影响仍然未知。 AEC是慢性阻塞性肺病、特发性肺纤维化和肺癌等传统吸烟相关呼吸系统疾病的靶细胞，其发病机制涉及氧化应激。在本研究中，分离、培养原代大鼠 AEC，并用 HNB 香烟烟雾提取物 (CSE) 刺激。我们的数据表明，暴露于HNB CSE的大鼠AEC诱导氧化应激反应基因（例如Hmox-1 、 Gsta1 、 Gsta3和Nqo1 ）。我们还比较了两种不同类型的 AEC（肺泡 I 型样（ATI 样）细胞和 II 型（ATII）细胞）之间以及两种不同类型的香烟（加热不燃烧香烟和传统香烟）之间的氧化应激反应。 ATII细胞对HNB和传统卷烟的反应中Gsta1 、 Gsta3和Nqo1的表达高于ATI样细胞，但HNB卷烟和传统卷烟之间其表达水平无显着差异。综上所述，我们的结果表明，加热不燃烧卷烟具有与传统卷烟产品相似的诱导 AEC 氧化应激反应的潜力。