Causation of Cigarette Smoke‚ÄìInduced Emphysema by p-Benzoquinone and Its Prevention by Vitamin C
Authors: Arunava Ghosh
Indu B Chatterjee
Archita Das
Santanu Banerjee
Neekkan Dey
Shinjini Ganguly
Dhruba J Chattopadhyay
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology (2015)
Discipline: BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
Keywords: cigarette smoke; emphysema; guinea pig model; p-benzoquinone; vitamin C.
Affiliations: Department of Biotechnology and Dr. B. C. Guha Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology, Calcutta University College of Science, Kolkata, India.

Abstract:  Cigarette smoke (CS) is the strongest risk factor for emphysema. However, the mechanism of the disease is not clear. One reason is that each puff of CS is a complex mixture of approximately 4,000 chemicals, and it is yet to be known which of these chemical(s) are directly involved in the pathogenesis of lung injury in emphysema. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that p-benzoquinone (p-BQ) produced in the lungs of CS-exposed guinea pigs is a causative factor for destruction of alveolar cells resulting in emphysema that is prevented by vitamin C. Vitamin C-restricted guinea pigs were subjected to whole-body CS exposure from five Kentucky research cigarettes (3R4F) per day or intramuscular injection of p-BQ in amounts approximately produced in the lung from CS exposure with and without oral supplementation of vitamin C. Progressive exposure of CS or p-BQ treatment caused progressive accumulation of p-BQ in the lung that was accompanied by destruction of alveolar cells and emphysema. The pathogenesis involved was arylation, oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis. Vitamin C (30 mg/kg body weight/d), a potential antagonist of p-BQ, prevented accumulation of p-BQ in the lung and the pathogenesis of emphysema. Our study provides the first proof that inactivation of p-BQ, a causative factor of emphysema in CS-exposed lung, could constitute a novel and effective approach in the prevention of emphysema. We consider that a moderately high dose of vitamin C may be a simple preventive therapy for emphysema in chronic smokers. 

Retracted: Yes

PubPeer comments:
 Fig 1 duplication  Fig 2 duplication  Fig 3 resized marker lane  Fig 5 duplications (5D brightness sharpness increased)   , 
 2021 retraction. https: www.atsjournals.org doi full 10.1165 rcmb.v64retraction8 The authors of the March 2015 article by Ghosh and colleagues (1) were notified by the AJRCMB that concerns in the figures in their paper had been identified. Specifically, evidence of duplication was identified in Figures 1, 2A, 3, 5C, and 5D. The senior author (I.B.C.) is deceased and the Journal was informed that he was in sole possession of the original data for the paper. The newly designated corresponding author (A.G.) informed the Journal that the original files could not be accessed; hence, the authors were unable to refute these concerns. They presume that their mishandling of the multi-layered image files and mislabeling of histological sections caused these issues. As these issues undermine confidence in the data, the decision was made to retract the paper. Drs. Ghosh and Chattopadhyay have agreed to this decision (the Journal has been unable to contact or has received no response from Drs. Ganguly, Dey, Banerjee, and Das); they apologize to the Journal and its readers. Reference. Ghosh A, Ganguly S, Dey N, Banerjee S, Das A, Chattopadhyay DJ, Chatterjee IB. Causation of cigarette smokeu2013induced emphysema by p-benzoquinone and its prevention by vitamin C. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 2015;52:315u2013322. , 
 Related: [PubPeer page of the retraction note] . ,