Tobacco Smoke Induces and Alters Immune Responses in the Lung Triggering Inflammation, Allergy, Asthma and Other Lung Diseases: A Mechanistic Review
Department of Pediatric Pulmonology and Allergy, Medical University of Warsaw, Zwirki i Wigury 61, 02-091 Warszawa, Poland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(5), 1033; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15051033
Received: 16 April 2018 / Revised: 8 May 2018 / Accepted: 9 May 2018 / Published: 21 May 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Tobacco Smoke: Exposure and Effects)
Many studies have been undertaken to reveal how tobacco smoke skews immune responses contributing to the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other lung diseases. Recently, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) has been linked with asthma and allergic diseases in children. This review presents the most actual knowledge on exact molecular mechanisms responsible for the skewed inflammatory profile that aggravates inflammation, promotes infections, induces tissue damage, and may promote the development of allergy in individuals exposed to ETS. We demonstrate how the imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants resulting from exposure to tobacco smoke leads to oxidative stress, increased mucosal inflammation, and increased expression of inflammatory cytokines (such as interleukin (IL)-8, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor α ([TNF]-α). Direct cellular effects of ETS on epithelial cells results in increased permeability, mucus overproduction, impaired mucociliary clearance, increased release of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, enhanced recruitment of macrophages and neutrophils and disturbed lymphocyte balance towards Th2. The plethora of presented phenomena fully justifies a restrictive policy aiming at limiting the domestic and public exposure to ETS.
View Full-Text
▼
Show Figures
Figure 1
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Strzelak, A.; Ratajczak, A.; Adamiec, A.; Feleszko, W. Tobacco Smoke Induces and Alters Immune Responses in the Lung Triggering Inflammation, Allergy, Asthma and Other Lung Diseases: A Mechanistic Review. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 1033.
Show more citation formats
Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.
