Deposition of pigmented matter in the lower respiratory tract correlates with the extent of emphysema in smokers as well as with free radical generation and iron accumulation. Pulmonary emphysema is postulated to be mediated by free radical generation which is either directly or indirectly associated with cigarette smoke exposure. The hypothesis was tested that 1) incomplete combustion of tobacco yields humic-like substances (HLS) which 2) deposit in the lung as pigmented particulates, 3) complex iron cations in vitro and in vivo, and 4) have a capacity to catalyze oxidant formation. HLS, isolated by alkali extraction of cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) (Tobacco Health Research Institute, University of Kentucky), demonstrated a high carbon and low carboxylate content on elemental and functional group analyses, respectively, compared with values for HLS sequestered from soils. The HLS isolated from CSC had a capacity to complex iron in vitro and accumulated the metal in vivo after intratracheal instillation in an animal model. Both HLS and its iron complex generated free radicals, and some portion of this oxidant generation was metal dependent. Lung tissue collected at autopsy from smokers contained HLS with an infrared spectrum almost identical to that of the material isolated from CSC. Associations between particulate deposition, metal accumulation, and free radical generation suggest a possible role of HLS in the induction of lung disease following cigarette exposure.
