Effect of Nicotine on Lung S-Adenosylmethionine and the Development of Pneumocystis Pneumonia

By Mehboob Shivji, Suzanna Burger, Camilo Andres Moncada, Allen B.

Clarkson, Jr., and Salim Merali

Explanation of the Title

The title means that the study is on the relationship of nicotine and S-Adenosylmethionine and how it effects pneumocystis pneumonia

S-Adenosylmethionine (SAMe)

This compound is also known as SAMe or AdoMet for short.

SAMe is involved in many functions throughout the body: formation of joint cartilage and neuron maintenance.

This molecule is so critical to survival that almost all the organisms in the world need it

Pneumocystis Carinii

This organism is a yeast-like fungus.

This particular species exclusively infects humans and not other animals.

This organism requires SAMe to survive, but it cannot synthesize it

Pnuemocystis Carnii cysts

Pneumocystis Carinii (cont.)

Since this organism cannot synthesize SAMe, it must scavenge it from the host.

This organism can deplete up to 98% of the hosts’ blood SAMe levels.

Life Cycle of Pneumocystis Carinii

Nicotine

It is a stimulant found in tobacco and the nightshade plants.

It is extremely addictive Nicotine can affect the CNS and the

cardiovascular adversely It is widely known as an anti-inflammatory

agent.

Materials and Methods

The materials in this experiment includes ultrapure AdoMet, pathogen free rats and a culture sample of Pneumocystis Carinii.

The rats were treated with drugs to prevent any latent PCP infection.

The rats then were infected with PCP and was divided into experimental and control groups.

Results

The plasma SAMe levels of were unchanged However, lung SAMe levels of nicotine

treated mice were very low compared to the control group.

Discussion

These new findings on nicotine may be used to develop drugs to combat PCP.

However, this study was done on mice and scientists have no idea whether this works the same way in humans.

Another finding is that PCP cannot effectively draw SAMe from host cells directly.

Conclusion

Nicotine is able to increase lung metabolism of SAMe

Nicotine can effectively reduce PCP infections

Further Experiments

Mimic the mechanism of action of nicotine in the lungs

Try to conduct the experiment among smokers