Effects of nicotine on heart dimensions and blood volume in male and female rats

Abstract

The adverse effects of tobacco smoking on the cardiovascular system are well established. Effects of nicotine on the heart, in contrast, are not well characterized. Understanding specific effects of nicotine on the heart and on blood volume is relevant to (a) elucidating the mechanisms by which nicotine may contribute to heart disease and (b) determining potential risks associated with nicotine products used in smoking cessation or to treat various medical conditions. The present experiment investigated effects of continuous nicotine administration for 14 days (0, 6, or 12 mg/kg/day) on heart histopathology and blood volume (a measure of hemoconcentration) in 59 male and 59 female rats of two strains (Sprague-Dawley and Long-Evans). Following nicotine administration, animals were sacrificed and blood volume was measured. Heart length; heart weight; left ventricle, right ventricle, lateral wall, anterior wall, and posterior wall thicknesses; and intraventricular width (i.e., septum) were measured. Nicotine reduced heart weight, heart length, and overall blood volume. Females were more sensitive than males to the effects of nicotine on heart weight. In contrast, males were more sensitive than females to the effects of nicotine on heart length. Together, these findings suggest that males and females differ in their sensitivity to nicotine's cardiac effects.

Cigarette smoking causes a worse long‐term outcome in persistent atrial fibrillation following catheter ablation

“…Fourth, because this is a clinical study, we did not have the evidence of direct harmful effects of the nicotine on the RA. Previous animal studies have shown the possible mechanisms of harmful effects of nicotine on the RA, which involved atrial fibrosis via downregulation of miR‐133 and miR‐590 …”

“…Previous animal studies have shown the possible mechanisms of harmful effects of nicotine on the RA, which involved atrial fibrosis via downregulation of miR-133 and miR-590. [40][41][42]…”

Strain- and sex-dependent pulmonary toxicity of waterpipe smoke in mouse

“…) and animal studies (Elliott et al. , ) based on CS/nicotine exposures. Overall, males and females exhibited differential sensitivity for acute WPS exposure in the C57BL/6J and BALB/cJ mouse strains, and females exhibited increased susceptibility to pulmonary toxicity compared to males in both the strains.…”

Alpha-7 nicotinic receptor agonists: potential new candidates for the treatment of schizophrenia

“…Heusch and Maneckjee 1998;Crowley-Weber et al 2003) and cerebro-or cardiovascular risk (e.g. Chalon et al 2000;Hakki et al 2002;Elliott et al 2003;Fang et al 2003;West et al 2003;reviewed in Benowitz and Gourlay 1997;Benowitz 1998Benowitz , 2003. Furthermore, nicotine is an addictive agent and the development of tolerance can lead to the stressful symptoms of withdrawal in the absence of continued nicotine dosing (reviewed in Benowitz 1998).…”