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Respiratory Research
Published in: Respiratory Research 1/2020

01-12-2020 | Smoking and Nicotine Detoxification | Research

Cigarette smoke and electronic cigarettes differentially activate bronchial epithelial cells

Authors: Christian Herr, Konstantinos Tsitouras, Julia Niederstraßer, Christina Backes, Christoph Beisswenger, Li Dong, Loïc Guillot, Andreas Keller, Robert Bals

Published in: Respiratory Research | Issue 1/2020

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Abstract

Background

The use of electronic cigarettes (ECIGs) is increasing, but the impact of ECIG-vapor on cellular processes like inflammation or host defense are less understood. The aim of the present study was to compare the acute effects of traditional cigarettes (TCIGs) and ECIG-exposure on host defense, inflammation, and cellular activation of cell lines and primary differentiated human airway epithelial cells (pHBE).

Methods

We exposed pHBEs and several cell lines to TCIG-smoke or ECIG-vapor. Epithelial host defense and barrier integrity were determined. The transcriptome of airway epithelial cells was compared by gene expression array analysis. Gene interaction networks were constructed and differential gene expression over all groups analyzed. The expression of several candidate genes was validated by qRT-PCR.

Results

Bacterial killing, barrier integrity and the expression of antimicrobial peptides were not affected by ECIG-vapor compared to control samples. In contrast, TCIGs negatively affected host defense and reduced barrier integrity in a significant way. Furthermore ECIG-exposure significantly induced IL-8 secretion from Calu-3 cells but had no effect on NCI-H292 or primary cells. The gene expression based on array analysis distinguished TCIG-exposed cells from ECIG and room air-exposed samples.

Conclusion

The transcriptome patterns of host defense and inflammatory genes are significantly distinct between ECIG-exposed and TCIG-treated cells. The overall effects of ECIGs on epithelial cells are less in comparison to TCIG, and ECIG-vapor does not affect host defense. Nevertheless, although acute exposure to ECIG-vapor induces inflammation, and the expression of S100 proteins, long term in vivo data is needed to evaluate the chronic effects of ECIG use.
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Metadata
Title
Cigarette smoke and electronic cigarettes differentially activate bronchial epithelial cells
Authors
Christian Herr
Konstantinos Tsitouras
Julia Niederstraßer
Christina Backes
Christoph Beisswenger
Li Dong
Loïc Guillot
Andreas Keller
Robert Bals
Publication date
01-12-2020
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Respiratory Research / Issue 1/2020
Electronic ISSN: 1465-993X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12931-020-1317-2

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