New research published in mSystems, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology, reveals that cigarette smoke can disrupt the oropharyngeal microbiota, exacerbating the severity of influenza A virus infections.
Cigarette smoke has long been recognized as a significant health risk, linked to various respiratory diseases and chronic pulmonary conditions. Previous studies have indicated that smoking increases the likelihood of influenza-related illnesses. More recently, researchers have observed that cigarette smoke alters the composition of the oropharyngeal microbiota, though the implications of these changes have remained unclear. The oropharynx includes critical structures such as the soft palate, the sides and back walls of the throat, the tonsils, and the back of the tongue.
In the current study, scientists investigated how chronic exposure to cigarette smoke affects both gut and oropharyngeal microbiota in mice. To isolate the impact of smoking from the resulting microbiota changes, the researchers exposed some mice to cigarette smoke while keeping others in a smoke-free environment. They then cohoused these mice with germ-free mice, allowing the transfer of microbiota from the donor mice to the germ-free subjects. The germ-free mice were subsequently colonized with bacteria from either smoke-exposed or air-exposed mice before being infected with the influenza A virus.
The results showed that the germ-free mice receiving bacteria from smoke-exposed mice experienced a more severe disease course, evidenced by greater weight loss. Additionally, significant alterations in the oropharyngeal microbiota composition were observed, particularly on days 4 and 8 post-infection. This study design effectively separated the impacts of the disordered microbiota from the immune-modulating effects of direct cigarette smoke exposure.
“Our findings suggest that it is not only the act of smoking that affects respiratory disease; the microbiota of smokers may also play a critical role in how respiratory infections, particularly viral infections, are experienced,” said Dr. Markus Hilty, the corresponding author of the study and an associate professor at the Institute for Infectious Diseases at the University of Bern in Switzerland. “The disordering of the microbiota induced by cigarette smoke is likely an important factor to consider during viral infections.”
This research underscores the complex interplay between smoking, microbiota composition, and respiratory health, highlighting the need for further investigation into these relationships.
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