E-cigarettes ‘raise the risk of infection by damaging hundreds of genes in immune system’

June 27, 2016

Smoking causes changes in genes in cells lining our airways and throat
Genes are vital for our immune response and damage leads to infections
Study found e-cigarettes also damage those genes and hundreds more
Researchers warned we do not know what long term effects of devices are

Madlen Davies for MailOnline

Published:
02:14 EST, 27 June 2016

|
Updated:
03:14 EST, 27 June 2016

View
comments

Smoking e-cigarettes increases the risk of infection because it damages hundreds of genes in the immune system, new research warns.

The devices alter hundreds of genes that control immune cells in the upper respiratory tract – the throat, mouth, nose and sinuses – including those affected by smoking cigarettes.

Smoking cigarettes decreased the gene expression of 53 genes important for the immune response of epithelial cells – which line our mouths, throat and lungs – the study found.

Comparably, using e-cigarettes decreased the gene expression of 358 genes important for immune defence – including all 53 genes implicated in the smoking group.

Smoking e-cigarettes increases the risk of infection because it damages hundreds of genes in the immune system, a study has found

Vaping cannot be linked to the risk of smoking diseases such as cancer, emphysema or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

But the research suggests that using the devices is not harmless.

Professor Ilona Jaspers, of the University of North Carolina, said: ‘We honestly do not yet know what long term effects e-cigarettes might have on health.

‘I suspect the effects of e-cigarettes will not be the same as the effects of cigarette smoking.’

Breast cancer patients’ lives ‘being ruined by side effects…

Farewell stilton legs! Countryfile star Julia Bradbury…

Tap on the cheek turns off ‘red-hot poker’ headaches: The…

Fitness craze fans need hip surgery in their 20s: ‘Cross…

Cigarettes cause changes in dozens of genes in the epithelial cells that line the respiratory tract which are vital for immune defense.

Several of these are thought to increase the risk of bacterial infections, viruses and inflammation.

The study found electronic cigarettes mutate those same genes and hundreds more important for immune defense in the upper airway.

To investigate what effect they have on genes that help our upper airways fight off harmful bugs, the researchers recruited 13 non-smokers, 14 smokers, and 12 e-cigarette users.

Each person kept a journal documenting their habit, and had their urine and blood samples analysed to confirm levels of nicotine and biomarkers which indicate tobacco exposure.

Genes in the epithelial cells that line the respiratory tract which are vital for immune defense. The study found cigarettes damage 53 of these genes, but e-cigarettes damage those ones and hundreds more (file photo)

After about three weeks, samples were also taken from the nasal passages to check the expression of genes important for immune responses, where the epithelial layers are very similar to those in our lungs.

All epithelial cells along our airways – from our noses to the tiny bronchioles deep in our lungs – need to function properly to trap and dispatch particles and germs so we don’t fall ill.

Certain genes in these cells allow for the proper amounts of proteins to be created, which orchestrate the overall immune response.

Professor Jaspers said: ‘We compared these genes one by one.

‘And we found each gene common to both groups was suppressed more in the e-cigarette group. We currently do not know exactly how e-cigarettes do this.’

Professor Ilona Jaspers said: ‘I was really surprised by these results. That is why we kept going back to make sure this was accurate.’

Professor Ilona Jaspers, of the University of North Carolina, said it is a mistake to try to directly compare cigarette smoking and e-cigarette use as both induce different biological changes in the body

She said the findings do not mean smoking e-cigarettes are as bad as or worse than smoking regular cigarettes.

She said: ‘I think it is a mistake to try to directly compare cigarette smoking and e-cigarette use.

‘We should not ask “smoking causes cancer; do e-cigarettes cause cancer? Smoking causes emphysema; do e-cigarettes cause emphysema?”‘

She said that inhaling burnt tobacco and inhaling vaporised flavoured liquids are fundamentally different, and it is more likely e-cigarettes could induce different biological changes and play different roles in other respiratory problems.

Professor Jaspers said: ‘We know 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 are at the beginning of cataloging and observing what may or may not be happening.’

Next, she plans to study how epithelial cells in e-cigarette users respond to a flu vaccine.

This, she said, could help her team measure the immune response of epithelial cells in smokers, non-smokers, and e-cigarette users.

The research was published in the American Journal of Physiology.