E-cigarettes compromise the gut barrier and trigger inflammation

Sharma, Aditi; Lee, Jasper; Fonseca, Ayden G.; Moshensky, Alex; Kothari, Taha; Sayed, Ibrahim M.; Ibeawuchi, Stella-Rita; Pranadinata, Rama F.; Ear, Jason; Sahoo, Debashis; Crotty-Alexander, Laura E.; Ghosh, Pradipta; Das, Soumita

E-cigarette usage continues to rise, yet the safety of e-cigarette aerosols is questioned. Using murine models of acute and chronic e-cigarette aerosol inhalation, murine colon transcriptomics, and murine and human gut-derived organoids in co-culture models, we assessed the effects of e-cigarette use on the gut barrier. Histologic and transcriptome analyses revealed that chronic, but not acute, nicotine-free e-cigarette use increased inflammation and reduced expression of tight junction (TJ) markers. Exposure of murine and human enteroid-derived monolayers (EDMs) to nicotine-free e-cigarette aerosols alone or in co-culture with bacteria also causes barrier disruption, downregulation of TJ protein, and enhanced inflammation in response to infection. These data highlight the harmful effects of “non-nicotine” component of e-cigarettes on the gut barrier. Considering the importance of an intact gut barrier for host fitness and the impact of gut mucosal inflammation on a multitude of chronic diseases, these findings are broadly relevant to both medicine and public health.