Vape aerosol has minimal impact on gene expression

ISLAMABAD   –  A new peer-reviewed study published in the journal Toxicological Research & Application shows acute exposure of a 3D human bronchial tissue model to e-cigarette aerosol has minimal impact on gene expression compared to smoke from combustible cigarettes.The research involved sub-cytotoxic exposure to cells in a 3D human bronchial model (MucilAirTM) to nicotine-containing vape aerosol, combustible cigarette smoke and fresh air control under strict laboratory conditions.The highly sensitive Toxicity Testing in the Twenty-First Century (TT21C)-based technique allows researchers to gain a mechanistic understanding of the potential effects of exposure to vape aerosol and 3R4F (reference cigarette) smoke, without experiencing other processes that may be triggered by significantly higher exposures — including cell death — that could potentially make interpretation of results difficult.After cell ‘recovery’ periods of 4 and 48 hours, scientists assessed the expression of a variety of genes to determine if any were increased or decreased by the single exposure.“

Within this model, exposure to combustible cigarette smoke triggered significant changes in gene expression, indicating — amongst other effects — changes in oxidative stress and inflammation markers,” confirmed Matt Stevenson, Pre-Clinical Toxicology Manager at Imperial Brands.