Effects of tobacco smoke exposure on splenic architecture and weight, during the primary immune response of BALB/c mice.

Mice exposed to tobacco smoke (TS) for 3 days or 18 or 28 weeks, prior to SRBC inoculation, subsequently displayed less pronounced and/or "shorter-lived" splenomegaly than are matched controls. In addition mice exposed to TS for three days or 18 weeks displayed a reduction in both the magnitude and duration of the primary immune response as evidenced by the pattern of expansion of splenic white pulp and "RNA-rich" white pulp volumes. In contrast mice exposed to TS for 28 weeks, prior to inoculation, displayed white pulp] and "RNA-rich" white pulp volumes similar to those of control mice.