Alterations of Plasma Antioxidants and Mitochondrial DNA Mutation in Hair Follicles of Smokers

    January 2002 in “ Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis ”
    Chin‐San Liu, Haw‐Wen Chen, Chong‐Kuei Lii, Ching‐Shan Tsai, Chen‐Ling Kuo, Yau‐Huei Wei
    TLDR Smoking reduces antioxidants and causes DNA damage in hair follicles.
    The study investigated the impact of long-term smoking on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletions in hair follicles, focusing on individuals with varying antioxidant capacities. It involved 22 male smokers and 40 healthy nonsmoking males as controls. The research found that smokers had significantly reduced levels of plasma antioxidants, such as ascorbate and α-tocopherol, and decreased activities of glutathione S-transferase (GST) and glutathione peroxidase. Conversely, smokers exhibited increased levels of glutathione, protein thiols, and a higher incidence of a 4,977 bp mtDNA deletion in hair follicles. The study concluded that smoking depletes antioxidants and causes mtDNA deletions, with low plasma GST activity and age identified as risk factors for these deletions. The findings suggested that plasma GST plays a crucial role in maintaining mitochondrial genome integrity in smokers' tissue cells.
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