PURPOSE: Cigarette smoking is the strongest environmental risk factor for all forms of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In the present study, the influence of nicotine on the severity of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in a mouse model of neovascular AMD and its effects on vascular smooth muscle cells derived from mouse choroid were investigated. METHODS: A mouse model for CNV was used to study the effects of nicotine in young and middle-aged mice. Nicotine was administered orally in the drinking water to achieve serum levels consistent with those of chronic smokers. Hexamethonium, a nonspecific nicotinic receptor antagonist, was injected subconjunctivally to counteract the effects of nicotine. A mouse choroidal vascular smooth muscle cell line was exposed to nicotine, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), or a combination of one of the factors and nicotine. Cell growth was determined by cell counts, and the activity of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and -9 was quantified by gel zymography. RESULTS: Nicotine administration resulted in increased size and vascularity of CNV, and older mice developed a greater relative increase than younger mice. This effect was blocked by subconjunctival hexamethonium. Choroidal vascular smooth muscle cells demonstrated a statistically significant increase in growth after exposure to a combination of PDGF and nicotine. Nicotine also reversed VEGF-induced suppression of MMP-2 activity. CONCLUSIONS: Nicotine increases size and severity of experimental CNV in the present mouse model, possibly by potentiating PDGF-mediated upregulation of proliferation of choroidal smooth muscle cells or by other mechanisms. These results suggest that non-neuronal nicotinic receptor activation probably mediates some of the harmful effects of cigarette smoking in wet AMD.