Electronic cigarettes can cause cellular and molecular changes in the lungs, according to a study carried out in mice by Canadian scientists, who warn that these products are not inert.
A team from McGill University in Montreal found that even low exposure to aerosols from a brand of e-cigarettes “very popular among youth and young adults” had “significant effects.”
Prolonged inhalation of e-cigarette aerosols by mice caused changes in the composition of the animals’ lung immune cells and altered the levels of genes and proteins in the lungs, indicates the research published in The FASEB Journal.
As a relatively new product, it may take decades to fully understand the effects of vaping on people, but this study shows that it causes “widespread changes inside the lungs,” according to study coordinator Carolyn Bagloe.
The data obtained from the research “further highlights that these products are not inert and can cause lung damage if used long term,” he added.
The team investigated the impact on mice of chronic, low-level exposure to aerosol from the e-cigarette brand JUUL.
The mice, between 8 and 12 weeks old, were exposed daily for a month to ambient air from commercially available products of that brand that contained 59 milligrams per milliliter of nicotine.
After the exposure period, inflammatory markers were evaluated and proteomic (study of proteins) and transcriptomic (study of RNA molecules in a cell) analyzes were performed on samples isolated from lung lavage.
Mice exposed to e-cigarette aerosols showed a “significant increase” in neutrophil and lymphocyte populations in lung lavage and “some changes” in the expression of cytokine mRNA.
The different analyzes also showed “significant changes” in numerous biological pathways, including neutrophil degranulation and xenobiotic metabolism. (news information).
