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Scieszka DP, Garland D, Hunter R, Herbert G, Lucas S, Jin Y, Gu H, Campen MJ, Cannon JL. Multi-omic assessment shows dysregulation of pulmonary and systemic immunity to e-cigarette exposure. Respir Res 2023; 24:138. [PMID: 37231407 PMCID: PMC10209577 DOI: 10.1186/s12931-023-02441-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/01/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Electronic cigarette (Ecig) use has become more common, gaining increasing acceptance as a safer alternative to tobacco smoking. However, the 2019 outbreak of Ecig and Vaping-Associated Lung Injury (EVALI) alerted the community to the potential for incorporation of deleterious ingredients such as vitamin E acetate into products without adequate safety testing. Understanding Ecig induced molecular changes in the lung and systemically can provide a path to safety assessment and protect consumers from unsafe formulations. While vitamin E acetate has been largely removed from commercial and illicit products, many Ecig products contain additives that remain largely uncharacterized. In this study, we determined the lung-specific effects as well as systemic immune effects in response to exposure to a common Ecig base, propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin (PGVG), with and without a 1% addition of phytol, a diterpene alcohol that has been found in commercial products. We exposed animals to PGVG with and without phytol and assessed metabolite, lipid, and transcriptional markers in the lung. We found both lung-specific as well as systemic effects in immune parameters, metabolites, and lipids. Phytol drove modest changes in lung function and increased splenic CD4 T cell populations. We also conducted multi-omic data integration to better understand early complex pulmonary responses, highlighting a central enhancement of acetylcholine responses and downregulation of palmitic acid connected with conventional flow cytometric assessments of lung, systemic inflammation, and pulmonary function. Our results demonstrate that Ecig exposure not only leads to changes in pulmonary function but also affects systemic immune and metabolic parameters.
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Affiliation(s)
- David P Scieszka
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of New Mexico School of Pharmacy, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Devon Garland
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, MSC 08 4660, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Russell Hunter
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of New Mexico School of Pharmacy, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Guy Herbert
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of New Mexico School of Pharmacy, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Selita Lucas
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of New Mexico School of Pharmacy, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Yan Jin
- Center for Translational Science, Florida International University, Port St. Lucie, FL, USA
| | - Haiwei Gu
- Center for Translational Science, Florida International University, Port St. Lucie, FL, USA
| | - Matthew J Campen
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of New Mexico School of Pharmacy, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Judy L Cannon
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, MSC 08 4660, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA.
- Autophagy, Inflammation, and Metabolism Center of Biomedical Research Excellence, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
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Kelesidis T, Sharma M, Satta S, Tran E, Gupta R, Araujo JA, Middlekauff HR. Ectodomain shedding of proteins important for SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis in plasma of tobacco cigarette smokers compared to electronic cigarette vapers: a cross-sectional study. J Mol Med (Berl) 2023; 101:327-335. [PMID: 36759357 PMCID: PMC9911331 DOI: 10.1007/s00109-023-02286-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023]
Abstract
The impact of tobacco cigarette (TCIG) smoking and electronic cigarette (ECIG) vaping on the risk of development of severe COVID-19 is controversial. The present study investigated levels of proteins important for SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis present in plasma because of ectodomain shedding in smokers, ECIG vapers, and non-smokers (NSs). Protein levels of soluble angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), angiotensin (Ang) II (the ligand of ACE2), Ang 1-7 (the main peptide generated from Ang II by ACE2 activity), furin (a protease that increases the affinity of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein for ACE2), and products of ADAM17 shedding activity that predict morbidity in COVID-19 (IL-6/IL-6R alpha (IL-6/IL-6Rα) complex, soluble CD163 (sCD163), L-selectin) were determined in plasma from 45 NSs, 30 ECIG vapers, and 29 TCIG smokers using ELISA. Baseline characteristics of study participants did not differ among groups. TCIG smokers had increased sCD163, L-selectin compared to NSs and ECIG vapers (p < 0.001 for all comparisons). ECIG vapers had higher plasma furin compared to both NSs (p < 0.001) and TCIG smokers (p < 0.05). ECIG vaping and TCIG smoking did not impact plasma ACE2, Ang 1-7, Ang II, and IL-6 levels compared to NSs (p > 0.1 for all comparisons). Further studies are needed to determine if increased furin activity and ADAM17 shedding activity that is associated with increased plasma levels of sCD163 and L-selectin in healthy young TCIG smokers may contribute to the future development of severe COVID-19 and cardiovascular complications of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theodoros Kelesidis
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 47-100 CHS, 10833 Le Conte Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
| | - Madhav Sharma
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 47-100 CHS, 10833 Le Conte Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Sandro Satta
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 47-100 CHS, 10833 Le Conte Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Elizabeth Tran
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Rajat Gupta
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jesus A Araujo
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Holly R Middlekauff
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Lee J, Murthy D, Kong G. Content Analysis of YouTube Videos Related to E-cigarettes and COVID-19. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2023:2023.01.06.23284266. [PMID: 36711470 PMCID: PMC9882443 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.06.23284266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION E-cigarettes are frequently promoted on social media and portrayed in ways that are attractive to youth. While COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected people's lives, less known is how the pandemic influenced e-cigarette-related marketing and information on social media. This study identifies how e-cigarettes are portrayed during the COVID-19 pandemic on YouTube, one of the most popular social media platforms. METHODS We searched for combinations of search terms related to e-cigarettes (i.e., "electronic cigarette", "e-cigarette", "e-cig", "vape" and "vaping") and COVID-19 (i.e., "corona", "COVID", "lockdown" and "pandemic"). To be included in the analysis, the video must be: uploaded after February 1, 2020, in English, related to e-cigarettes and COVID-19 and less than 30 minutes in length. We assessed video themes related to e-cigarettes and COVID-19, uploader characteristics, and featured e-cigarette products. RESULTS We examined N=307 videos and found that N=220 (73.6%) were related to the health effects of e-cigarette use on COVID-19, followed by videos of how COVID-19 affects e-cigarette access/sales (N=40, 12.9%), and face mask-related videos (N=16, 5.1%) which included content regarding masks and e-cigarette use. Instructional videos on how to modify e-cigarettes to use with masks had the highest number of likes (Median=23; IQR=32) and comments (Median=10; IQR=7). CONCLUSIONS This study identified various e-cigarette contents on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings support the need for continuous surveillance on novel vaping-related content in reaction to policies and events such as the global pandemic on social media is needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juhan Lee
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Dhiraj Murthy
- University of Texas at Austin, School of Journalism and Media, Department of Sociology, Austin, TX, US
| | - Grace Kong
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
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Hamon R, Ween MP. E-Cigarette Vapour Increases ACE2 and TMPRSS2 Expression in a Flavour- and Nicotine-Dependent Manner. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:14955. [PMID: 36429673 PMCID: PMC9691196 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192214955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Revised: 11/06/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
COVID-19 infects via the respiratory system, but it can affect multiple systems and lead to multi system failure. There is growing evidence that smoking may be associated with higher rates of COVID-19 infections and worse outcomes due to increased levels of ACE2 in lung epithelial cells, but it is unknown whether E-cigarette use may lead to increased risk of COVID-19 infection from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In this study, healthy donor bronchial epithelial cells (NHBE) and monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) were exposed to cigarette smoke extract (CSE) or nicotine or flavoured E-cigarette vapour extract (EVE) before the assessment of SARS-CoV-2 recognition receptors ACE2 and TMPRSS2 genes. MDMs exposed to CSE and Tobacco EVE showed increased ACE2 expression; however, no treatment altered the TMPRSS2 expression. ACE2 was found to be upregulated by >2-fold in NHBE cells exposed to CSE, as well as nicotine, banana, or chocolate EVE, while TMPRSS2 was only upregulated by CSE or nicotine EVE exposure. These findings suggesting that flavourings can increase ACE2 expression in multiple cell types, while TMPRSS2 expression increases are limited to the epithelial cells in airways and may be limited to nicotine and/or cigarette smoke exposure. Therefore, increased risk of COVID-19 infection cannot be ruled out for vapers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rhys Hamon
- School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5000, Australia
- Centre for Cancer Biology, University of South Australia and SA Pathology, Adelaide 5000, Australia
| | - Miranda P. Ween
- School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5000, Australia
- Department of Thoracic Medicine, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide 5000, Australia
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Goodwin RD, Barrington-Trimis J. Building a foundation for evidence-based decision-making on e-cigarettes. Nicotine Tob Res 2021; 24:293-294. [PMID: 34894145 DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntab254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Renee D Goodwin
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, The City University of New York, New York, NY.,Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY
| | - Jessica Barrington-Trimis
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA.,USC Institute for Addiction Science (IAS), University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
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