E-cigarettes compromise the gut barrier and trigger gut inflammation

Abstract

E-cigarette and vaping device use continue to rise, particularly in adolescents and young adults, but the safety of inhaling the multitude of chemicals within e-cigarette aerosols has been questioned. While several studies have evaluated vaping effects on the lungs and heart; effects on the gastrointestinal tract remain unknown. Using established murine models of acute (1 week) and chronic (3 month) daily e-cigarette aerosol inhalation, both with nicotine-containing and vehicle control e-liquids, murine colon transcriptomics and organoid co-culture models, we assessed the effects of e-cigarette use on the gut barrier and mucosal health. Histologic analyses revealed that chronic exposure to nicotine-free e-cigarette aerosols induced mucosal inflammation. Transcriptome analyses revealed that chronic, but not acute, nicotine-free e-cigarette use significantly reduced expression of tight junction markers, including occluding, and drove expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Exposure of murine and human enteroid-derived monolayers (EDMs) to nicotine-free e-cigarette aerosols alone, or in co-culture with invasive E. coli, confirmed that repetitive exposure was sufficient to recapitulate the key findings observed in vivo, i.e., barrier-disruption, downregulation of occludin, inflammation, and an accentuated risk of and response to bacterial infection. These data highlight an unexpected harmful effect of e-cigarette use on the gut barrier and pinpoint non-nicotine chemical components common across >90% of e-cigarette e-liquids as the source of harm. Given the ever-expanding importance of the integrity of the gut barrier for host fitness, and impact of gut mucosal inflammation on a multitude of chronic diseases, these findings are broadly relevant to medicine and public health. SIGNIFICANCEThe safety of electronic cigarettes has been questioned amidst emerging evidence that they may derail our immune system and increase our susceptibility to infections. Despite these insights, their impact on the most critical entity that separates trillions of microbes from the largest immune system in our body, i.e., the gut barrier, remains unexplored. Using a combination of mouse models, gut transcriptomics, and murine and human gut-derived organoids, here we show that chronic exposure to aerosols of electronic-cigarette disrupts the gut barrier, increases its susceptibility to bacterial infections and triggers inflammation. Given the importance of the gut barrier in the maintenance of immune homeostasis, these findings provide valuable insights into the potential long-term harmful effects of electronic cigarettes on health.