Studies On Cigarette Smoke Extracts-Induced Toxicity Of Heart, Brain And Vascular Endothelium And The Related Mechanism

Many components of cigarette smoke that gain access to the circulation will come in contact with the brain and cardiovascular system. Cigarette smoking is an important environment risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and cancers. Epidemiological studies revealed a strong correlation between cigarette smoking and the development and progression of cardiovascular diseases. The risk of death due to heart disease is increased by about 20-70% among smokers. The perinatal exposure to environmental cigarette smoke may develop toxic effects on brain development and incurs events like Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Cigarette smoking may exert lasting adverse effects on brain structure and function as well as child's physical and cognitive growth. And there was an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease in smokers in a prospective study. However, the precise components of cigarette smoke responsible for this relationship and the mechanisms by which cigarette smoke exert its toxic effects have not been elucidated yet.The mitochondrion is the key site for oxidative phosphorylation and ATP production in cells. It was reported that the internal membranes of the mitochondria incubated with cigarette smoke residue were degraded with time, correlating well with loss of ciliary activity and cell death. And smoke-induced heart mitochondrial respiratory inhibition has been observed as "smoke cardiomyopathy". It implicated that mitochondria should be one of the targets predisposed to cigarette smoking damage.The aim of the present paper was to investigate whether cigarette smoke would induce heart, brain and cardiovascular toxicity, and to...