The role of smoking status in the immune response

Scientists from France and Sweden have published in the journal Nature the results of a study on the influence of various factors on the functions of the human immune system.

Differences in immune responses are associated with age, gender, genetic factors, etc. However, the specific variables that lead to such differences, including in cytokine secretion, remain poorly understood.

In this work, 136 variables were analyzed and as a result it was shown that smoking played a leading role in the development of the cytokine response, as well as the presence of latent cytomegalovirus infection and the value of body mass index. Smoking influenced both innate and adaptive immune responses. Moreover, the effect on innate immune response responses faded rapidly after smoking cessation, while the effect on adaptive responses persisted long after smoking cessation, which is associated with epigenetic memory.

The findings have potential clinical relevance for determining the risk of infections, cancer or autoimmune diseases.