The most abundant white blood cell in the bloodstream, the neutrophil, is responsible for releasing certain chemicals at the “scene of the crime,” AKA the site of infection. Neutrophils release reactive oxygen species (ROS) and DNA Fibers called neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) to kill pathogens. However, ROS and NETs can also be harmful to human tissue.
Nicotine causes damage to the human body by triggering neutrophils to release ROS and NETs via an acetylcholine receptor on the surface of neutrophils. A protein kinase enzyme called Akt also helps to transmit the signal from nicotine into the neutrophil. ROS production and NET release without a pathogenic cause causes tissue damage, leading to inflammatory diseases like small vessel vasculitis, arthritis, and even cancer.
Constantin Urban, associate professor and project leader at Umea University, said that the research “should be seen as one more convincing argument to quit nicotine usage in any form.” Urban and the rest of the team from Umea showed for the first time that nicotine triggers NET release.
In the future, the researchers plan to show just how much NETs animal and human neutrophils are capable of releasing in response to stimulation in the presence of nicotine. They are hopeful that their findings will eventually lead to new anti-inflammatory therapies for diseases related to tobacco usage.
Their study was recently published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology.
Source: Umea University Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS)