Liver damage form passive smoking

Although regular smokers rationalize their habit by saying, "It only hurts me”, scientists insist that second-hand smoke exhaled by smokers is hazardous, posing a major threat to people who are around them. Now, in a new study, scientists at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) have linked exposure to second hand tobacco smoke with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

NAFLD can lead to chronic liver injury wherein fat builds up in the liver of people who abstain or drink little alcohol. At its severest form, it can lead to liver failure. Manuela Martins-Green, a professor of cell biology, who led the study stated, “Until our study, second hand smoking had not been linked to NAFLD development.”

Two key regulators of fat the focus of study
The focus of the study was how second-hand smoke affects two key regulators of fat synthesis on the molecular level. These are SREBP (sterol regulatory element-binding protein) that stimulates synthesis of fatty acids in the liver and AMPK (adenosine monophosphate kinase) that turns SREBP on and off. These two essential regulators of lipid (fat) metabolism are found in many human cells.

The researchers conducted an experiment on mice and exposed them to second-hand cigarette smoke in a lab. After a year, the scientists examined the fat build-up in the liver cells of the rodents exposed to passive smoke, a sign of NAFLD that causes liver dysfunction.

Observations by researchers
The researchers found that mice exposed to second-hand smoke amassed excess fat in their liver cells as opposed to the rodents exposed to smoke-free air.

The researchers state that NAFLD is generated by second-hand smoke. Manuela Martins-Green said, "Our study provides compelling experimental evidence in support of tobacco smoke exposure playing a major role in NAFLD development."

The researchers concluded that smoke exposure inhibits the activity of AMPK, which in turn prompts the activity of SREBP to stimulate synthesis of fatty acids in the liver.

Martins-Green further added, "Our work points to SREBP and AMPK as new molecular targets for drug therapy that can reverse NAFLD development resulting from second-hand smoke. Drugs could now be developed that stimulate AMPK activity, and thereby inhibit SREBP, leading to reduced fatty acid production in the liver."

Passive smoking and its effects on human health
Passive smoking is secondhand smoking which entails inhaling the smoke of the cigarette without actually smoking it.

Some immediate health problems associated with passive smoking are eye irritation, headache, sore throat, dizziness and nausea. Everybody who is in the vicinity of a smoker stands a chance of inhaling both the "side stream" and "mainstream" smoke, which means a person is breathing in what the smoker is exhaling out, and what is burning off the cigarette.

Just try and pay more attention to your lifestyle.