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Smoking’s lasting effect on the immune system

It emerges from a study of human cells that smoking can influence certain immune responses to the same extent as can age or genetics. Smoking can alter the immune system in ways that persist long after quitting the habit.
  1. Yang Luo

    1. Yang Luo is at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7FY, UK.

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  2. Simon Stent

    1. Simon Stent is a research scientist based in Oxford, UK.

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When our bodies encounter pathogens such as bacteria and viruses, immune cells release molecules called cytokines to coordinate the body’s defence mechanisms. These cytokines send signals to other immune cells to mount an appropriate response against the invading pathogens. The secretion of cytokines can vary among individuals and is influenced by both environmental and inherited factors. Writing in Nature, Saint-André et al.1 report their examination of data from the Milieu Intérieur project2, a research initiative designed to study the variability in the immune system among 1,000 healthy individuals.

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Nature 626, 724-725 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-00232-3

References

  1. Saint-André, V. et al. Nature 626, 827–835 (2024).

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  2. Thomas, S. et al. Clin. Immunol. 157, 277–293 (2015).

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  3. Burgos, M. et al. Ther. Adv. Med. Oncol. 14, 17588359211072621 (2022).

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  4. Prüss-Ustün, A. et al. BMJ 364, l265 (2019).

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Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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