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Exposure to tobacco smoke oxidizes muscle proteins

STAFF | AUGUST 25TH, 2010

Researchers at Respiratory Disease Center (CIBERES) of the Hospital del Mar-IMIM and the Hospital Clínic-IDIBAPS of Barcelona discovered that chronic exposure to cigarette smoke is linked to the oxidation of muscle proteins.

Until now, it was known that tobacco smoke may be one of the factors contributing to muscle dysfunction in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
However, health experts did not know the molecular mechanisms by which cigarette smoke can lead to the damage of muscle fibers.

The working hypothesis of the group of researchers was that the oxidants present in cigarette smoke could induce oxidative modifications of key structures of the muscle fibers, such as proteins. Thus, through the study they sought to determine the levels of oxidative stress and inflammation in various muscles of healthy smokers – with no cardiovascular or respiratory disease – and those of guinea pigs chronically exposed to cigarette smoke during a period of six months.

Chronic exposure to cigarette smoke did not cause increased levels of inflammation in the muscles of smokers or those of rodents; however, it did significantly increase levels of oxidation of muscle proteins in both subject groups.

Additionally, the study showed that the oxidative modifications in response to chronic exposure to cigarette smoke in muscle tissues appeared much earlier than alterations in the lungs and the airways of the guinea pigs. "These findings suggest that components of cigarette smoke have a direct effect on the muscles, regardless of the type and level of lesions in the lungs," said Esther Barreiro, CIBER research and coordinator of the study.

The study, recently published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (182(4):477-488), received the cooperation of the follwing institutions: IMIM-Hospital del Mar, Hospital Clínic, IDIBAPS, Pompeu Fabra University, University of Barcelona, all located in Barcelona, and the Hospital de Cruces and the University of the Basque Country, in northern Spain.

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