AARC Times: Cigarette Smoke Makes MRSA Stronger

From the AARC Times, July Issue, Pg. 49

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is already an aggressive bacteria.  Now researchers from the University of California San Diego find that cigarette smoke just ups the ante.  MRSA bacteria exposed to cigarette smoke in their study were more resistant to reactive oxygen species and antimicrobial peptides, as well as better at sticking to and invading human cells grown in the lab.  In a mouse modes, MRSA bacteria exposed to cigarette smoke were more likely to survive, and they also led to pneumonias with a higher mortality rate.

The investigators believe cigarette smoke strengthens MRSA bacteria by altering their cell walls in such a way that they are better able to repel antimicrobial peptides and other charged particles.  “Cigarette smokers are known to be more susceptible to infectious diseases.  Now we have evidence that cigarette smoke-induced resistance in MRSA may be an additional contributing factor, “ study author Laura E Crotty Alexander, MD was quoted as saying.