E-Liquid Base Solution Used in Electronic Cigarettes Impairs Cerebrovascular Reactivity

Rachel Plants*, Sydney Nassabeh*, Emily Burrage, J. Alex Bruce, Amber Mills, Paul D. Chantler, and I. Mark Olfert

School Of Medicine, Division of Exercise Physiology; Center of Inhalation Toxicology, Robert C Byrd Health Science Center, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505

Presentation Category: Health Sciences (Poster Presentation #127)

Student’s Major: Exercise Physiology

Electronic cigarettes (E-cigs) have been marketed as a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes and as a smoking cessation aid. The main components comprising the E-cig liquid are vegetable glycerin (VG) and propylene glycol (PG), but few studies have examined the chronic effects of either 100% VG or 100% PG e-cig aerosol toward cerebrovascular health. Wild type C57BL/6J mice were placed in whole-body chambers and exposed to aerosol produced from e-cigs using 5-sec puff at 17.5 W with either 100% VG or 100% PG liquid for 60 puffs/day, 5 days/week, for 4 weeks. Control group of mice were exposed to ambient air. One-day after the last exposure, the mice were sacrificed and middle cerebral artery (MCA) responsiveness to increasing concentrations of acetylcholine (ACh), phenylephrine (PE), and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) were examined via pressure myography. Maximal MCA dilation to ACh (10-4M) was impaired by ~50% in both VG and PG groups compared to control mice. Max response to endothelial-independent dilator response SNP (10-4 M) showed 25-42% impairment with VG and PG compared to control mice. Vasoconstriction response to PE (10-4 M) was 15% lower with VG and 40% lower with PG compared to control mice. Mice exposed to e-cig aerosol produced solely from VG or PG show vascular reactivity impairments of up to 50% in MCA vessels. The greater deficits observed with ACh, compared to SNP, suggests significant impairment results from endothelial-dependent mechanisms, but also that endothelial-independent mechanisms may be involved.

Funding: NIH

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: a WVU 497-level course, Honors EXCEL Program