1
|
Dai Y, Yang W, Song H, He X, Guan R, Wu Z, Jiang X, Li M, Liu P, Chen J. Long-term effects of chronic exposure to electronic cigarette aerosol on the cardiovascular and pulmonary system in mice: A comparative study to cigarette smoke. Environ Int 2024; 185:108521. [PMID: 38508052 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Revised: 02/03/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have rapidly gained popularity as alternatives to traditional combustible cigarettes. However, their long-term health impact remains uncertain. This study aimed to investigate the effects of chronic exposure to e-cigarette aerosol (ECA) in mice compared to conventional cigarette smoke (CS) exposure. The mice were exposed to air (control), low, medium, or high doses of ECA, or a reference CS dose orally and nasally for eight months. Various cardiovascular and pulmonary assessments have been conducted to determine the biological and prosthetic effects. Histopathological analysis was used to determine structural changes in the heart and lungs. Biological markers associated with fibrosis, inflammation, and oxidative stress were investigated. Cardiac proteomic analysis was applied to reveal the shared and unique protein expression changes in ECA and CS groups, which related to processes such as immune activation, lipid metabolism, and intracellular transport. Overall, chronic exposure to ECA led to adverse cardiovascular and pulmonary effects in mice, although they were less pronounced than those of CS exposure. This study provides evidence that e-cigarettes may be less harmful than combustible cigarettes for the long-term health of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems in mice. However, further human studies are needed to clarify the long-term health risks associated with e-cigarette use.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yuxing Dai
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Wanchun Yang
- Jieyang Medical Research Center, Jieyang People's Hospital, Jieyang, Guangdong, China
| | - Hongjia Song
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Xiangjun He
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Ruoqing Guan
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Zehong Wu
- RELX Science Center, Shenzhen RELX Tech. Co. Ltd., Shenzhen 518101, China
| | - Xingtao Jiang
- RELX Science Center, Shenzhen RELX Tech. Co. Ltd., Shenzhen 518101, China
| | - Min Li
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China; National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Druggability and New Drugs Evaluation, Guangdong Engineering Laboratory of Druggability and New Drug Evaluation, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
| | - Peiqing Liu
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China; National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Druggability and New Drugs Evaluation, Guangdong Engineering Laboratory of Druggability and New Drug Evaluation, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
| | - Jianwen Chen
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China; National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Druggability and New Drugs Evaluation, Guangdong Engineering Laboratory of Druggability and New Drug Evaluation, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Ma T, Wang X, Li L, Sun B, Zhu Y, Xia T. Electronic cigarette aerosols induce oxidative stress-dependent cell death and NF-κB mediated acute lung inflammation in mice. Arch Toxicol 2021; 95:195-205. [PMID: 33159582 PMCID: PMC7855759 DOI: 10.1007/s00204-020-02920-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use has been linked to recent acute lung injury case clusters in over 2000 patients and dozens of deaths in the United States, however, the mechanism leading to lung injury is not certain although ultrafine particles, heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, and other harmful ingredients have been implicated. To systematically evaluate e-cigarette toxicity, we generated e-cigarette aerosols by varying the puff numbers (20-480), nicotine contents (0-24 mg/mL), and collected e-cigarette samples through an impinger system for biological assays. The calculated samples' concentration ranged from 1.96 to 47.06 mg/mL. THP-1 monocyte-differentiated macrophages, BEAS-2B bronchial epithelial cells, wild-type C57BL/6 mice, and NF-κB-luc transgenic mice were used to test the effects of these samples. E-cigarette samples showed cytotoxicity to THP-1 cells and BEAS-2B in vitro, leading to increased oxidative stress, inflammatory cytokine production with or without nicotine, and cell death. Furthermore, aerosol generated from PG is more toxic than VG. The toxicity of e-cigarette samples is at least partially due to the reactive oxygen species and aldehydes, which are generated during the aerosolization processes by the e-cigarette device. After NF-κB-luc mice exposed with e-cigarette samples by oropharyngeal aspiration, NF-κB expressions were observed in a dose-response fashion with or without nicotine. In addition, the e-cigarette samples induced neutrophil infiltration, IL-1β production, oxidative stress marker heme oxygenase-1 expression in wild-type C57BL/6 mice. These results suggested that oxidative stress, pro-inflammatory NF-κB pathway activation, and cell death are involved in e-cigarette aerosol-induced acute lung inflammation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tiancong Ma
- Division of Nanomedicine, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1772, USA
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1772, USA
| | - Xiang Wang
- Division of Nanomedicine, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1772, USA
| | - Liqiao Li
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1772, USA
| | - Bingbing Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, School of Chemical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, 2 Linggong Road, Dalian, 116024, China
| | - Yifang Zhu
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1772, USA.
| | - Tian Xia
- Division of Nanomedicine, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1772, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Wang J, Zhang T, Johnston CJ, Kim SY, Gaffrey MJ, Chalupa D, Feng G, Qian WJ, McGraw MD, Ansong C. Protein thiol oxidation in the rat lung following e-cigarette exposure. Redox Biol 2020; 37:101758. [PMID: 33080441 PMCID: PMC7575796 DOI: 10.1016/j.redox.2020.101758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2020] [Revised: 08/21/2020] [Accepted: 10/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
E-cigarette (e-cig) aerosols are complex mixtures of various chemicals including humectants (propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerin (VG)), nicotine, and various flavoring additives. Emerging research is beginning to challenge the "relatively safe" perception of e-cigarettes. Recent studies suggest e-cig aerosols provoke oxidative stress; however, details of the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Here we used a redox proteomics assay of thiol total oxidation to identify signatures of site-specific protein thiol modifications in Sprague-Dawley rat lungs following in vivo e-cig aerosol exposures. Histologic evaluation of rat lungs exposed acutely to e-cig aerosols revealed mild perturbations in lung structure. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid analysis demonstrated no significant change in cell count or differential. Conversely, total lung glutathione decreased significantly in rats exposed to e-cig aerosol compared to air controls. Redox proteomics quantified the levels of total oxidation for 6682 cysteine sites representing 2865 proteins. Protein thiol oxidation and alterations by e-cig exposure induced perturbations of protein quality control, inflammatory responses and redox homeostasis. Perturbations of protein quality control were confirmed with semi-quantification of total lung polyubiquitination and 20S proteasome activity. Our study highlights the importance of redox control in the pulmonary response to e-cig exposure and the utility of thiol-based redox proteomics as a tool for elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying this response.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Juan Wang
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, 99352, United States
| | - Tong Zhang
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, 99352, United States
| | - Carl J Johnston
- Department of Pediatric Pulmonology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, 14642, United States
| | - So-Young Kim
- Department of Pediatric Pulmonology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, 14642, United States
| | - Matthew J Gaffrey
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, 99352, United States
| | - David Chalupa
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, 14642, United States
| | - Guanqiao Feng
- Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79409, United States
| | - Wei-Jun Qian
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, 99352, United States.
| | - Matthew D McGraw
- Department of Pediatric Pulmonology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, 14642, United States; Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, 14642, United States.
| | - Charles Ansong
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, 99352, United States.
| |
Collapse
|