Vaping additives cannabinoid oil and vitamin E acetate adhere to and damage the human airway epithelium

Summary & key facts

Researchers exposed human airway epithelial cell cultures to vaping aerosols made from common e-liquid base (PG/VG), PG/VG with CBD oil, and PG/VG with CBD oil plus vitamin E acetate (VEA). They saw CBD oil and VEA stick to the airway surface and build up inside cells. After three daily exposures, cell death was much higher with CBD oil (about 45%) and highest with CBD+VEA (about 60%). Proteins released from the cultures also changed in ways that match stress and cell damage. These results come from lab-grown human airway cells, not from testing in whole people, so they describe cellular effects the authors say could help explain vaping-related lung injury.

Key facts:

• The study used primary human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cultures from six individual donors (n=6) and exposed them to aerosols in three sessions spaced 24 hours apart.
• Microscopy showed visible droplet deposits of CBD oil and of CBD oil plus VEA on the airway surface within two days of exposure.
• After the third exposure, the percentage of dead cells (PI-positive) was about 45% for PG/VG+CBD oil and about 60% for PG/VG+CBD oil+VEA (statistically significant, p ≤ 0.001).
• Proteomic analysis of the apical secretions showed increases in proteins linked to xenobiotic metabolism, oxidative stress responses, and cell-death indicators after CBD and CBD+VEA exposures.
• Markers that indicate a leak of the airway barrier into the basal medium—serotransferrin and serum albumin—were significantly higher after two and three days of exposure, especially with PG/VG+CBD oil+VEA.
• The authors report that CBD oil and VEA adhered to airway surfaces and were taken up by cells, and they suggest this adherence and uptake caused metabolic stress that was associated with increased cell death in these cultured human airway c

Abstract

E-cigarette, or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI), is a severe respiratory disorder that caused a sudden outbreak of hospitalized young people in 2019. Using cannabis oil containing vaping products, including vitamin E acetate contaminants, was found to be strongly associated with EV …

Topics

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Research Neuroscience of respiration and sleep Respiratory and Cough-Related Research

Categories

Endocrine and Autonomic Systems Life Sciences Neuroscience

Tags

Airway Anesthesia Chemistry Epithelium Medicine Pathology Pharmacology Respiratory epithelium