E-cigarettes damage lung cells

Emissions from e-cigarettes can damage lung cells by creating harmful radicals that cause inflammation.

A research team from the Medical Centre at the University of Rochester (UR) exposed mouse lungs cells to e-cigarette aerosols and discovered that they show a condition known as oxidative toxicity and have an inflammatory response, leading to lung cell damage.

“Our research affirms that e-cigarettes may pose significant health risks and should be investigated further. It seems that every day a new e-cigarette product is launched without knowing the harmful health effects of these products,” said Irfan Rahman, professor of Environmental Medicine at the UR School of Medicine and Dentistry.

The study, published in PLOS ONE, revealed that the inhaled vapours contain possible carcinogens in the form of nanoparticles that can reach lung tissue, cell systems, and the blood stream.

The team recorded that mice exposed to e-cigarettes with classic tobacco flavouring demonstrated signs of a condition known as pulmonary inflammation. The team also studied human lung cells and found that cells released various inflammation biomarkers.

They also found that some flavoured e-cigarettes (particularly cinnamon) create more stress and toxicity on lung tissue. Exposure of human basic tissue cells to e-cigarettes aerosols resulted in increased inflammation of proteins important in cell signalling. They also observed that a type of cell in humans important in lung healing known as lung fibroblasts showed stress in response to e-cigarettes.

“Exposure to e-cigarette aerosols and juices incurs measurable oxidative and inflammatory responses in lung cells and tissues that could lead to unrealised health consequences,” said the researchers in their paper.

Paper: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0116732