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. 2018 Mar 21;8(1):4943.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-23425-z.

Tobacco-Free Cigarette Smoke Exposure Induces Anxiety and Panic-Related Behaviours in Male Wistar Rats

Máira Tereza Talma Chírico  1   2 , Frank Silva Bezerra  1   2 , Mariana Reis Guedes  1   2 , Ana Beatriz Souza  1   2 , Fernanda Cacilda Silva  1   2 , Glenda Campos  1   2 , Sylvana Rendeiro de Noronha  1   2 , Laura Batista Tavares Mesquita  1   2 , Thayane Oliveira Reis  1   2 , Silvia Dantas Cangussú  1 , Deoclécio Alves Chianca-Jr  1   2 , Rodrigo Cunha de Menezes  3   4
Affiliations

Tobacco-Free Cigarette Smoke Exposure Induces Anxiety and Panic-Related Behaviours in Male Wistar Rats

Máira Tereza Talma Chírico et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Smokers, who generally present with lung damage, are more anxious than non-smokers and have an associated augmented risk of panic. Considering that lung damage signals specific neural pathways that are related to affective responses, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of pulmonary injury on anxiety and panic-like behaviours in animals exposed to cigarette smoke with and without tobacco. Male Wistar rats were divided into the following groups: a control group (CG); a regular cigarette group (RC); and a tobacco-free cigarette (TFC) group. Animals were exposed to twelve cigarettes per day for eight consecutive days. The animals were then exposed to an elevated T-maze and an open field. The RC and TFC groups presented increases in inflammatory cell inflow, antioxidant enzyme activity, and TBARS levels, and a decrease in the GSH/GSSG ratio was observed in the TFC group. Exposure to RC smoke reduced anxiety and panic-related behaviours. On the other hand, TFC induced anxiety and panic-related behaviours. Thus, our results contradict the concept that nicotine is solely accountable for shifted behavioural patterns caused by smoking, in that exposure to TFC smoke causes anxiety and panic-related behaviours.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cigarette smoke exposure effects on leukocyte influx and BALF inflammatory cell profile. Letters (above the bars) indicate significant differences (a), difference in relation to the control group; (b), difference between the cigarette groups) analysed by one-way ANOVA, followed by a Newman Keuls post hoc test (p < 0.05). Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM (n = 8 in each group).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Illustrations of the increased alveolar space and decreased alveolar septal volume in lung section photomicrographs of the animals exposed to cigarette smoke. CG: control group; RC: regular cigarette; TFC: tobacco-free cigarette. 40x magnification.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effects of cigarette smoke exposure on the ETM. (a) Time spent by the animals in leaving the ETM’s enclosed arm during baseline, avoidance 1, and avoidance 2 over three trials (with 30-s intervals and a cut-off time of 300 s). (b) Time spent by the animals in leaving the ETM’s open arm during escape 1–3 over three trials (with 30-s intervals and a cut-off time of 300 s). Letters above the bars indicate significant differences between the groups (a), difference in relation to the control group; (b), difference between the cigarette groups) analysed by one-way and two-way ANOVA, followed by Newman Keuls post hoc tests (p < 0.05). Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM (n = 8–12 in each group).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Cigarette smoke effect on locomotor activity. Letters above the bars indicate significant differences between the groups (a) difference in relation to the control group; (b) difference between the cigarette groups) analysed by one-way and two-way ANOVA, followed by Newman Keuls post hoc tests (p < 0.05). Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM (n = 8–12 in each group). CG: control group; RC: regular cigarette; TFC: tobacco-free cigarette.
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