Effects of mango and mint pod-based e-cigarette aerosol inhalation on inflammatory states of the brain, lung, heart, and colon in mice

Abstract

While health effects of conventional tobacco are well defined, data on vaping devices, including one of the most popular e-cigarettes which have high nicotine levels, are less established. Prior acute e-cigarette studies have demonstrated inflammatory and cardiopulmonary physiology changes while chronic studies have demonstrated extra-pulmonary effects, including neurotransmitter alterations in reward pathways. In this study we investigated the impact of inhalation of aerosols produced from pod-based, flavored e-cigarettes (JUUL) aerosols three times daily for 3 months on inflammatory markers in the brain, lung, heart, and colon. JUUL aerosol exposure induced upregulation of cytokine and chemokine gene expression and increased HMGB1 and RAGE in the nucleus accumbens in the central nervous system. Inflammatory gene expression increased in the colon, while gene expression was more broadly altered by e-cigarette aerosol inhalation in the lung. Cardiopulmonary inflammatory responses to acute lung injury with lipopolysaccharide were exacerbated in the heart. Flavor-specific findings were detected across these studies. Our findings suggest that daily e-cigarette use may cause neuroinflammation, which may contribute to behavioral changes and mood disorders. In addition, e-cigarette use may cause gut inflammation, which has been tied to poor systemic health, and cardiac inflammation, which leads to cardiovascular disease.

Association between electronic cigarette use and depression among Thai adolescents: The Thailand National Health Examination Survey 2019–2020

“…A salient symptom of nicotine dependence is withdrawal, which can exacerbate mental health illnesses, including depression 20 . Moreover, a recent study revealed that daily exposure to flavored nicotine e-cigarettes may induce neuroinflammation in brain regions responsible for the formation of depressive behaviours 21 . Further research is needed to fully understand the relationship between e-cigarette use and depression, whether it is a bi- More concern about e-cigarette use and depression among youth is expected, as e-cigarette companies use various marketing tactics to target youth 22 .…”

Effects of Chronic Inhalation of Electronic Cigarette Vapor Containing Nicotine on Neurobehaviors and Pre/Postsynaptic Neuron Markers

“…Altogether, our data provides critical information regarding the ability of nicotine-containing e-cigarette vapors to increase pro-inflammatory biomarkers in the brain. A previous study reported that one and three-month exposure to E-cigarette vapors-containing nicotine and flavors is associated with increased gene expression of neuroinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor, IL-1β and IL-6 in the accumbens shell [38]. However, because we combined male and female mice samples, more studies are required to explore the role of sex differences in nicotine modulation of chemokine/cytokine levels.…”

“…This dose is approximately similar to that used in our previous studies [23,27]. All mice were placed in whole-body exposure chambers (cages) inside a hood, supplied with a ventilation system, and exposed to the treatment for 3 s every 30 s, for one hour per day, for five days per week over four weeks, as previously performed [38].…”

Electronic Cigarettes: A Pro–Con Review of the Current Literature

“…Finally, e-cigarette exposure daily for months has been shown to cause disease beyond the lung, including cardiac, renal, and hepatic fibrosis, neuroinflammation in the central nervous system, and altered inflammatory states in the heart and colon. 56,62 Although much is still unknown, there are multiple reports identifying e-cigarette use as the cause of a variety of more acute and subacute lung diseases, including eosinophilic pneumonia, 63 hypersensitivity pneumonitis, 64,65 bronchiolitis, 66 organizing pneumonia, 67 alveolar hemorrhage, 68,69 and acute respiratory distress syndrome. In many of these cases, patients became critically ill before clinicians could recognize or identify the inhalant use as a potential driver.…”