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Tobacco Smoking and Oxidative Stress in Pregnancy

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Perinatal and Prenatal Disorders

Abstract

Maternal cigarette smoking is an ongoing problem affecting the health of the mother and child. Pregnant women have continuing smoking rates as high as 80–85 %. Active or passive exposure to tobacco smoke results in intrauterine growth retardation, an increased risk of spontaneous abortion, a higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome, reduction of pulmonary function in healthy neonates, and wheezy bronchitis in children leading to abnormal lung function in childhood and tracking into adulthood. Several mechanisms have been postulated to explain such effects. One possibility given credence by several studies is that cigarette smoke, rich in free radicals and oxidizing species, depletes plasma antioxidants in the mother and cord blood and placenta tissue. Levels of both enzymatic antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase and nonenzymatic antioxidants such as albumin, uric acid, ceruloplasmin, bilirubin, and vitamin C were significantly lower, while levels of oxidants such as lipid hydroperoxide, malondialdehyde, and total peroxide were significantly higher in mothers that were active or passive smokers and their fetuses compared with the controls. A positive significant correlation was found between number of cigarettes and oxidative stress levels. Finally, oxidation of lipids, inactivation of certain proteins and enzymes, induction of DNA single-strand breakage, transcriptome alteration, and disruption of biological membranes occur.

In conclusion, active or passive maternal smoking is associated with important alterations in oxidant and antioxidant balance in fetal placental tissue, cord blood, and maternal peripheral blood and causes potent oxidative stress.

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Abbreviations

CAT:

Catalase

GPX:

Glutathione peroxidase

LOOH:

Lipid hydroperoxide

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

OSI:

Oxidative stress index

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

TAC:

Total oxidant capacity

TOS:

Total oxidant capacity

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Clinic, Eskisehir State Hospital, 26010, Eskisehir, Turkey

    Ali Aycicek M.D.

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  1. Ali Aycicek M.D.
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Correspondence to Ali Aycicek M.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Penn, Perelman Sch of Med Professor of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Division of Neonatology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Phyllis A. Dennery

  2. Lab of Oxidative Stress Policlinico “Le Scotte“, University of Siena Dept of Peds, Obstetrics & Reprod Med, Siena, Italy

    Giuseppe Buonocore

  3. Department of Pediatrics, University of Oslo Faculty of Medicine Rikshospitalit Medical Center, Oslo, Norway

    Ola Didrik Saugstad

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Aycicek, A. (2014). Tobacco Smoking and Oxidative Stress in Pregnancy. In: Dennery, P., Buonocore, G., Saugstad, O. (eds) Perinatal and Prenatal Disorders. Oxidative Stress in Applied Basic Research and Clinical Practice. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1405-0_4

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