Acute Effects of Cigarette Smoke on Murine Macrophages

Abstract

Experiments have been carried out on the immediate effects of cigarette smoke on murine peritoneal and alveolar macrophages, fibroblasts, and epithelioid cells. Within 30 minutes after exposure to cigarette smoke, many murine peritoneal or alveolar macrophages die, while survivors exhibit an increase in tritiated RNA synthesis both in vivo and in vitro. The susceptibility of these cells to cigarette smoke contrasts sharply with that of murine fibroblasts and mixed cultures of fibroblastic and epithelioid cells derived from explants of fetal mouse lung.