Cigarette smoke induces bronchoconstrictor hyperresponsiveness to substance P and inactivates airway neutral endopeptidase in the guinea pig. Possible role of free radicals.
We examined the effects of acute exposure to cigarette smoke on the airway responses to substance P in anesthetized guinea pigs and on the activity of airway neutral endopeptidase ( NEP). After exposure to air or to cigarette smoke we measured the change in total pulmonary resistance (RL) induced by increasing concentrations of aerosolized substance P in the absence or presence of the NEP inhibitor phosphoramidon. In the absence of phosphramidon the bronchoconstrictor responses to substance P were greater in cigarette smoke-exposed guinea pigs than in air-exposed animals. Phosphoramidon did not further potentiate the responses to substance P in smoke-exposed guinea pigs, whereas it did so in air-exposed animals. In the presence of phosphoramidon, bronchoconstrictor responses to substance P in animals exposed to air or to cigarette smoke were not different. Aerosols of SOD delivered before cigarette smoke exposures dramatically reduced smoke-induced hyperresponsiveness to substance P, whereas heat-inactivated SOD had no effect on smoke-induced hyper-responsiveness to substance P. Cigarette smoke solution inhibited NEP activity from tracheal homogenate in a concentration-dependent fashion, an inhibitory effect that was mostly due to the gas phase of the smoke, but not to nicotine. The mild chemical oxidant N-chlorosuccinimide mimicked the concentration-dependent inhibitory effect of smoke solution on airway NEP activity. We conclude that cigarette smoke causes enhanced airway responsiveness to substance P in vivo by inactivating airway NEP. We suggest that cigarette smoke-induced inhibition of airway NEP is due to effects of free radicals.[1]References
- Cigarette smoke induces bronchoconstrictor hyperresponsiveness to substance P and inactivates airway neutral endopeptidase in the guinea pig. Possible role of free radicals. Dusser, D.J., Djokic, T.D., Borson, D.B., Nadel, J.A. J. Clin. Invest. (1989) [Pubmed]
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