Abstract Title
The Effects of Cigarette Smoke on Lung Microbiota
Abstract
Smoking is known to cause adverse effects in the lungs. At the cellular and tissue level smokers experience oxidative stress and chronic inflammation leading to mutations and cancer. While the adverse effects of smoking on tissues of the respiratory system are well documented, little is known about the effects of smoking on the microbiota associated with the respiratory system. Indeed, very little is known about the microbes that normally reside in the lungs, or how microbial communities are altered in individuals with a compromised respiratory system, such as through smoking. In this experiment, a common lung microbe, Streptococcus pneumoniae, was grown on smoke-infused tryptic soy broth along with normal tryptic soy broth. The main findings indicate that the common lung microbe S. pneumoniae grows faster on the smoke-infused media with an average r-value of 2.66, while the control media had an average r-value of 1.72 in a set of 2 trials. These findings give insight into how the lung microbiota, specifically S. pneumoniae are reacting to smoke inhalation. Looking furher, the knowledge gained by this experiment may prompt further research into why S. pneumoniae’s growth is accelerated by smoke along with other lung microbes that may have similar reactions.
The Effects of Cigarette Smoke on Lung Microbiota
Smoking is known to cause adverse effects in the lungs. At the cellular and tissue level smokers experience oxidative stress and chronic inflammation leading to mutations and cancer. While the adverse effects of smoking on tissues of the respiratory system are well documented, little is known about the effects of smoking on the microbiota associated with the respiratory system. Indeed, very little is known about the microbes that normally reside in the lungs, or how microbial communities are altered in individuals with a compromised respiratory system, such as through smoking. In this experiment, a common lung microbe, Streptococcus pneumoniae, was grown on smoke-infused tryptic soy broth along with normal tryptic soy broth. The main findings indicate that the common lung microbe S. pneumoniae grows faster on the smoke-infused media with an average r-value of 2.66, while the control media had an average r-value of 1.72 in a set of 2 trials. These findings give insight into how the lung microbiota, specifically S. pneumoniae are reacting to smoke inhalation. Looking furher, the knowledge gained by this experiment may prompt further research into why S. pneumoniae’s growth is accelerated by smoke along with other lung microbes that may have similar reactions.