Immune modulation by chronic exposure to waterpipe smoke and immediate-early gene regulation in murine lungs

Abstract

ObjectiveWe investigated the effects of chronic waterpipe (WP) smoke on pulmonary function and immune response in a murine model using a research-grade WP and the effects of acute exposure on the regulation of immediate-early genes (IEGs).MethodsWP smoke was generated using three WP smoke puffing regimens based on the Beirut regimen. WP smoke samples generated under these puffing regimens were quantified for nicotine concentration. Mice were chronically exposed for 6 months followed by assessment of pulmonary function and airway inflammation. Transcriptomic analysis using RNAseq was conducted after acute exposure to characterise the IEG response. These biomarkers were then compared with those generated after exposure to dry smoke (without water added to the WP bowl).ResultsWe determined that nicotine composition in WP smoke ranged from 0.4 to 2.5 mg per puffing session. The lung immune response was sensitive to the incremental severity of chronic exposure, with modest decreases in airway inflammatory cells and chemokine levels compared with air-exposed controls. Pulmonary function was unmodified by chronic WP exposure. Acute WP exposure was found to activate the immune response and identified known and novel IEG as potential biomarkers of WP exposure.ConclusionChronic exposure to WP smoke leads to immune suppression without significant changes to pulmonary function. Transcriptomic analysis of the lung after acute exposure to WP smoke showed activation of the immune response and revealed IEGs that are common to WP and dry smoke, as well as pools of IEGs unique to each exposure, identifying potential biomarkers specific to WP exposure.

Effect of sub-chronic exposure to cigarette smoke, electronic cigarette and waterpipe on human lung epithelial barrier function

“…An additional set of experiments evaluated the effects of exposure to TW in the epithelial cell barrier function using pseudostratified primary epithelial tissue from donor 3 (MucilAir, Table 1 ) obtained from a commercial outlet. TW smoke was generated by combustion of commercial tobacco blend (shisha) using the modified Beirut regimen [ 15 ]. Three samples from donor 3 in an air-liquid interface were exposed for 1 h every other day until three exposures were performed.…”

“…A Masterflex peristaltic pump puffed whole smoke into the Vitrocell (Germany) exposure chamber, whereas the control inserts were exposed to humidified air (control air) in the exposure system using the same profile. In a different set of experiments, we used the modified Beirut profile for TW smoke generation [ 15 ]. Briefly, a laboratory-grade waterpipe (Batelle) burned 12 to 13 g of shisha (Exotic Pirate’s Cave, Starbuzz) with a lit 40 mm charcoal placed on top of an aluminum foil (10 min pre-heated) covering the TW head, and smoke generated using a puffing regimen as follow: 530 mL puff, 3 s duration, puff interval 17 s. The charcoal was replaced after 30 min.…”

Building the evidence base for waterpipe regulation and policy

“…With the rising prevalence of waterpipe use and continuing misperceptions about waterpipe harm, a better understanding of health risks associated with waterpipe smoking is warranted. Reyes-Caballero et al 18 studied the effects of waterpipe smoke on the lungs immune system and function in a murine model. Waterpipe smoke was generated for three waterpipe puffing regimens, where mice were chronically exposed for Commentary 6 months to each of the regimens.…”

“…Nine teams funded under this programme collaborated in presenting their findings in this special issue, and this commentary provides a synopsis of these studies and discusses their potential regulatory and policy implications. [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] copyright.…”

The CHRNA5 polymorphism (rs16969968) and its association with waterpipe smoking addiction among Jordanians

“…In some countries, the rate of waterpipe use has surpassed that of cigarettes (Jawad et al, 2018). Waterpipe smoking is associated with several health problems (Reyes-Caballero et al, 2020;Sullman, Gras, Kagialis, Papageorgi, & Font-Mayolas, 2020), including cardiovascular diseases (Alomari, Khabour, Alzoubi, & Eissenberg, 2020;Nemmar et al, 2020), respiratory diseases (Kudhair, Alabid, Zayed, Lafta, & Taheri-Kafrani, 2020;Nemmar, Al-Salam, Beegam, Yuvaraju, & Ali, 2019), and cancer (Kudhair et al, 2020;Sabi et al, 2020).…”