ADHESION-PROMOTING EFFECTS OF CIGARETTE-SMOKE ON LEUKOCYTES AND ENDOTHELIAL-CELLS

Cigarette smoking (CS) has clearly been identified as an independent, major risk factor for the development of pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases such as emphysema, atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease.1-3 Although not new diseases, the prevalence and importance of these disorders in the western world have increased dramatically since the turn of the century, a change that coincided with the invention of cigarette-manufacturing machines, making smoking of tobacco both cheap and convenient. Although a lot of research interest has been directed towards CS-related diseases, the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms by which CS contributes to these diseases are only incompletely understood. Searching for a putative mechanism of action of CS-induced initiation and propagation of pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases, the focus of this review is directed towards the effects of CS on leukocyte/endothelium interaction.