Cerebrovascular and neurological impact of chronic smoking on post traumatic brain injury outcome and recovery: an in vivo study
Abstract Background: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is among the most prevalent causes of cerebrovascular and neurological damage worldwide. To this end, tobacco smoking (TS) has been shown to promote vascular inflammation, neurovascular impairments and risk of cerebrovascular and neurological disorders through oxidative stress (OS) stimuli targeting the blood-brain barrier (BBB) endothelium among others. It has been recently suggested that premorbid conditions such as TS may exacerbate post-TBI brain damage and impact recovery. The present study aims to investigate and dissect out the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the exacerbation of TBI in a weight-drop model following chronic TS exposure. Methods: C57BL/6J male mice, age range 6–8 weeks were chronically exposed to TS for three weeks. Test animals were then subjected to TBI by guided vertical head weight drop using a 30 g metal weight free felling from an 80 cm distance before reaching the target. Physical activity and body weight of the mice were analyzed before TBI and 1 h, 24 h and 3 days post-injury. Finally, mice were sacrificed to collect blood and brain samples for subsequent biochemical and molecular analysis. Western blotting was applied to assess the expression of Nrf2 (a key antioxidant transcription factor) as well as tight junction proteins associated with BBB integrity including, ZO-1, Occludin, Claudin-5 from brain tissues homogenates. Levels of NF-kB (a pro-inflammatory transcript factor which antagonizes Nrf2 activity) along with pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-α were measured by ELISA on blood samples. Results: TS promoted significantly increased inflammation and loss of BBB integrity in TBI when compared to TS-Free test mice. Additionally, mice chronically exposed to TS prior to TBI experienced a more significant weight loss, behavioral, and motor activity deficiency and slower post-TBI recovery when compared to TS-free TBI mice. Conclusion: TS promotes a significant exacerbation of post-TBI neurovascular and neurological impairments. Whereas BBB impairment and pro-inflammatory vascular responses induced by chronic TS exposure are likely responsible for the retardation of post-traumatic recovery observed in these animals.