David Scott of the Oral Health and Systemic Disease Research Group at the University of Louisville School of Dentistry in Kentucky said that neutrophils, the white blood cells that defend against infection, are generated by bone marrow.

The study, published in the journal BMC Cell Biology, found nicotine-treated neutrophils were less able to seek and destroy bacteria than nicotine-free neutrophils. The nicotine suppressed the oxidative burst in HL-60 cells, a function that helps kill invading bacteria. Nicotine also increased MMP-9 release, a factor involved in tissue degradation, the study said.

A better understanding of how nicotine impairs neutrophil function could pave the way for specific therapeutic strategies to treat a number of important tobacco-associated inflammatory diseases and conditions, the study authors said.