Longevity & AgingFire Smoke Rewires Immunity at the Molecular Level, Study Finds
Researchers at Harvard, Stanford, and partner institutions studied blood from 31 smoke-exposed individuals and 29 matched controls using DNA methylation profiling and mass cytometry. They identified 94 differentially methylated CpG sites linked to 133 immune-relevant genes, elevated activation and chemokine receptor markers on CD8+ T cells, and—using a novel mass cytometry application—detected toxic metals including mercury and cadmium bound to individual immune cells. Mercury accumulation correlated with years of smoke exposure, and specific epigenetic changes tracked with PFAS blood levels. These findings map previously unknown molecular pathways by which fire smoke disrupts human immunity.
