Does nicotine increase size and severity of experimental choroidal neovascularization?
Nicotine increases size and severity of experimental CNV in the present mouse model, possibly by potentiating PDGF-mediated upregulation of proliferation of choroidal smooth muscle cells or by other mechanisms. These results suggest that non-neuronal nicotinic receptor activation probably mediates some of the harmful effects of cigarette smoking in wet AMD.
These findings imply that TDI exposure concentrations may greatly affect the occurrence and extent of inflammatory events and that Th2 type cytokines may play an important role in the immunopathogenesis of TDI-induced occupational respiratory hypersensitivity.