Elevated concentrations of endotoxin in indoor air due to cigarette smoking

Abstract

Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is an important worldwide public health issue. The present study demonstrates that cigarette smoke can be a major source of endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) in indoor environments. Gas-chromatography/mass-spectrometry was used to determine 3-hydroxy fatty acids as markers of endotoxin in air-borne house dust in homes of smokers and non-smokers. Air concentrations of endotoxin were 4-63 times higher in rooms of smoking students than in identical rooms of non-smoking students. The fact that cigarette smoke contains large amounts of endotoxin may partly explain the high prevalence of respiratory disorders among smokers and may also draw attention to a hitherto neglected risk factor of ETS.

The human whole blood pyrogen test – lessons learned in twenty years

“…Based on the correlations made, the Netherlands have suggested introducing an occupational exposure limit for endotoxins. It was also reported that cigarette smoke contains high levels of endotoxin and it was postulated that this might be the component of the cigarette smoke mainly responsible for its inflammatory effects (Sebastian et al, 2006). In the case of air pollutants, studies have focused on evaluating concentrations of some pollutants and correlating them with prevalence of respiratory diseases including endotoxin (Liu, 2002;Doreswamy and Peden, 2010).…”

Review: Is lung inflammation associated with microbes and microbial toxins in cigarette tobacco smoke?

“…The growth of bacteria and mold from warehouse tobacco has been described in the scientific literature and US Patents [28,[33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40]. Candidate microbial agents that have been identified in tobacco are reasonably anticipated to activate lung Ma are very diverse [28,[33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43].…”

“…Gram-negative-bacteria-derived endotoxin (LPS) has also been identified in bales of cured tobacco and cigarette tobacco [33,[36][37][38][39]. Most LPS is thought to be destroyed from the burning of the cigarette tobacco during smoking.…”

“…Most LPS is thought to be destroyed from the burning of the cigarette tobacco during smoking. However, some LPS escapes tobacco pyrolysis, and LPS has been identified by mass spectrophotometry and limulus ameobocyte lysate (LAL) assay [36][37][38][39].…”

“…Candidate microbial agents that have been identified in tobacco are reasonably anticipated to activate lung Ma are very diverse [28,[33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. Examples of the tobacco-associated microbes that could activate human lung Ma include both Gram-negative and Gram-positive tobacco-derived bacteria.…”