title: Animal models used to test the interactions between infectious agents and products of cigarette smoked implicated in sudden infant death syndrome.
abstract: Animal test systems are reviewed that have relevance to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) are reviewed. These test interactions between infectious agents (or their toxins) and products of cigarette smoke. Infectious agents implicated in SIDS include members of the enterobacteria and clostridia, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes. Smoking is thought to be the single most preventable cause of SIDS. Tobacco smoke contains many extremely toxic products including cyanide and nicotine. Many animal test systems are available to examine the potency of bacterial toxins and smoke-derived components. These include mice, hamsters, rats and chick embryos. Such systems reveal synergy between bacterial toxins, especially endotoxin and superantigens. They have also demonstrated potentiation of low levels of bacterial toxin by low levels of both nicotine and its primary metabolite, cotinine. These findings suggest a possible causal explanation for the fact that passive exposure to cigarette smoke is a risk factor in sudden infant death syndrome.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Sayers
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Drucker
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000150:complications*; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000378:metabolism; D002642:Chick Embryo; D006224:Cricetinae; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D051379:Mice; D051381:Rats; D013398:Sudden Infant Death / Q000209:etiology*; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution