Acute cigarette smoke exposure induces oxidative damage and inflammation in Wistar rats: impact on lungs and erythrocytes

Abstract

Smoking of cigarettes worsens morbidity and mortality rates by prompting cancer, pulmonary, cardiovascular, and oral diseases. Despite having all these severe risks of smoking, the habit is unacceptably widespread, particularly among teenagers in many countries, including Bangladesh. In this investigation, the acute effect of cigarette smoking on oxidative stress and inflammation (Tumor Necrosis Factor- α (TNF-α)) has been analyzed in the cigarette smoke (CS)-exposed rats. Exposure of smoke in vivo significantly increased the levels of Lipid Peroxide (LPO) and TNFα in the experimental rats, when compared to those of the control rats. Furthermore, washed erythrocytes isolated from control rats were exposed directly to CS in vitro. The time-dependent exposure of smoke to erythrocytes increased the oxidative stress in the erythrocytes, as indicated by increased levels of LPO in the erythrocytes. The toxic effect of acute cigarette smoke was also visible in the morphological studies of erythrocytes. Cigarette smoke-exposed erythrocytes revealed numerous leakage, breaks and membrane blobs in the plasma membrane of erythrocytes. Our results thus suggest that cigarette smoke not only affects the lung tissues but may also deteriorate the morphology of erythrocytes by instigating the oxidative stress in the erythrocytes.