Lung cancer is a major medical problem. Despite advances in molecular biology and pharmacology, the outcome of lung cancer treatment is unsatisfactory. Clinically, inflammation and cancer are closely associated, and, genetically, these two processes are regulated by the same gene loci. Inflammation promotes cancer formation. Increasing evidence shows that neuroimmune interaction involving inflammatory disease and the vagus nerves are crucial in the interaction. Airway sensory receptors are biosensors that detect the lung inflammatory process through various mediators and cytokines. This information is transmitted through vagal afferents to the brain and produces a host of responses that regulate the extent and intensity of inflammation. Tumor cells express receptors for neurotransmitters and provide a substrate for direct interaction with neurons. Thus, neural regulation of the immune response is targeted towards inflammation as well as tumors. The airway sensors can detect cancer-related cytokines, which provides a direct pathway to inform the brain of tumor growth. The knowledge of how these sensors may monitor tumor progression and provide neuroimmune interaction in the control of tumor development and metastasis will improve our treatment of lung cancer.
Carcinogenesis ; Cytokines ; physiology ; Humans ; Inflammation ; pathology ; Lung ; innervation ; pathology ; Lung Neoplasms ; pathology ; Sensory Receptor Cells ; physiology ; Vagus Nerve ; physiology

In this study, two proposed scales of nicotine dependence were compared: self-administered nicotine intake and acute heart rate sensitivity to smoking. Our aim was to determine if these nicotine dependence scales would rank relative dependence the same in a sample of 15 male chronic smokers who smoked their first cigarette in the morning after overnight abstinence. Heart rate and plasma nicotine levels were measured before and 5, 10, 15, and 30 min after smoking. The results of this pilot study suggest that heart rate sensitivity and nicotine intake do not have a direct linear relationship, but rather a curvilinear relationship. A marked increase in heart rate sensitivity was observed at approximately the 70th percentile of nicotine intake.
Heart Rate ; Humans ; Male ; Nicotine ; administration & dosage ; Pilot Projects ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Smoking ; adverse effects ; Tobacco Use Disorder ; physiopathology