Inhibition of mouse alveolar macrophage production of tumor necrosis factor alpha by acute in vivo and in vitro exposure to tobacco smoke.

We investigated the effects of tobacco smoke exposure on the production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) by alveolar macrophages (AM) in mice (C57BL/6). The results obtained are as follows: (1) In vivo tobacco smoke exposure caused a significant decrease in the production of TNF alpha by AM with the stimulation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS; control group: 19.32 +/- 5.52 U/ml, smoked group: 4.28 +/- 0.98 U/ml; p less than 0.05). (2) In vitro exposure of AM to tobacco smoke extracts (water-soluble extracts) also caused a decrease in the production of TNF alpha up to 93% of control with stimulation of LPS (p less than 0.05) without any decrease in cellular viability. We concluded that the production of TNF alpha by AM was impaired by smoking via direct action of the factors present in tobacco smoke.