E-cigarette use can alter hundreds of genes involved in airway immune defense

Millions of people are using e-cigarettes worldwide.  But have they really been tested? Are they really safe?

This week toxicologists from the University of North Carolina Health Care (UNC) have reported how e-cigarettes affect genes involved in upper airway immune defense.

Smoking cigarettes affects dozens of genes important for immune defense of the upper respiratory tract.  Several of these changes are likely to increase the risk of bacterial infections, viruses, and inflammation.

The new study shows that e-cigarettes also affect these genes and hundreds more that are important for immune defense in the upper airway.

The study was published in the journal – The American Journal of Physiology.  The study involved 13 non-smokers, 14 smokers, and 12 e-cigarette users.  The participants kept journals of their smoking and vaping habits and the scientists examined their urine, blood and samples from the nasal passages to analyze the expression of genes important for immune responses.

The cells along our airways, from our nose to our lungs, need to function properly to make sure pathogens and particles do not enter our body.  The cells lining this passage must be able to function properly and this is controlled by the genes in these cells.  The study found that 53 genes involved in the immune response was altered in the smokers.  And those using e-cigarettes had a total of 358 genes affected, including the 53 affected in the smokers.

“I was really surprised by these results,” said lead researcher Ilona Jaspers, Professor of Paediatrics, and microbiology and immunology at UNC. “That’s why we kept going back to make sure this was accurate.”

“We honestly do not yet know what long-term effects e-cigarettes might have on health.  I suspect that the effects of e-cigarettes will not be the same as the effects of cigarette smoking.”

“We know that diseases like COPD, cancer, and emphysema usually take many years to develop in smokers.  But people have not been using e-cigarettes for very long. So we don’t know yet how the effects of e-cigarette use might manifest in 10 or 15 years. We’re at the beginning of cataloging and observing what may or may not be happening.” said Jaspers.

I am sure we will see more studies reporting on the dangers of e-cigarettes.

Source – https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160620141317.htm