Effects of cigarette smoking on pulmonary vasoreactivity]

The effects of cigarette smoking on hemodynamics and hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction were studied in intact rats, in isolated rat lungs and in humans. The results show that smoking increases the vascular tone of pulmonary arterioles and venules, and increases their reactivity to alveolar hypoxia; leukotrienes, prostaglandins and sympathetic nerve mediate the smoking--induced pulmonary vasoconstriction; and the augmentation of pulmonary vasoreactivity to hypoxia is mainly mediated by leukotrienes and sympathetic nerve, possibly by prostaglandins as well in humans.