A new study in mice has provided an insight into why viral infections have more severe consequences in individuals exposed to cigarette smoke than in those not exposed to it.
The mechanism behind why viral infections have more severe consequences in individuals exposed to cigarette smoke than in those not exposed to it has been revealed by a new study.
The study, conducted by researchers at Yale School of Medicine, also identified the mechanism by which viruses and cigarette smoke interact to increase lung inflammation and damage.
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The mice's immune systems cleared the virus normally but the exaggerated inflammation caused increased levels of tissue damage.
"The anti-viral responses in the cigarette smoke exposed mice were not only not defective, but were hyperactive," said Jack A. Elias, M.D., the Waldermar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Medicine and chair of internal medicine at Yale School of Medicine.
"It's like smokers are using the equivalent of a sledge hammer, rather than a fly swatter, to get rid of a fly," he added.
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They also defined the signaling pathway that mediates this exaggerated innate immune response.
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"Once verified, we can find ways to prevent the destruction of lung tissue and the higher illness and death among smokers," he added.
James P. Kiley, director, Division of Lung Diseases of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, said: "These studies have identified molecular pathways that can explain how cigarette smoke exposure and viral infections interact to make breathing problems worse in diseases like COPD," said
"With further research, these findings may even lead to more effective drug treatments for COPD," he added.
The study is published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Source-ANI
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