acute vaping in a golden Syrian hamster causes inflammatory response transcriptomic changes.

Introduction:
This article presents a study on the effects of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) vaping on the respiratory tract of golden Syrian hamsters. The study aims to establish the validity of small animal modeling of e-cigarette inhalational injury in a hamster and to evaluate the impact of acute e-cigarette exposure on airway inflammation, extracellular matrix remodeling, oxidative stress, neutrophil extracellular trap release (NETosis), and risk of thrombosis. The study also highlights the potential of the golden Syrian hamster as a model for respiratory viruses such as SaRS-CoV-2.

Key Points:

* The study used a 2-day whole body vaping exposure protocol in male golden Syrian hamsters.
* The hamsters were exposed to e-cigarette aerosol with or without nicotine.
* The study evaluated serum cotinine, bronchoalveolar lavage cells, lung and nasal histopathology, and gene expression in the nasopharynx and lung through reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).
* The results showed that acute e-cigarette vaping causes significant upregulation of mRNas in the respiratory tract from pathways involving the renin-angiotensin system, coagulation, extracellular matrix remodeling, type 1 inflammation, fibrosis, oxidative stress response, NETosis, vasculogenesis, and angiogenesis.
* The study also found that acute vaping leads to an increase in tissue factor expression, which could serve as a link to the risk of thrombosis with e-cigarette vaping.
* The golden Syrian hamster was established as a viable model of e-cigarette vaping, and the model has significant translational applications to the evaluation of vaping's impact on respiratory infections.

Main Message:
The study highlights the potential health risks associated with e-cigarette vaping, even in an acute exposure setting. The findings suggest that e-cigarette vaping can cause significant upregulation of mRNas from various pathways involved in airway inflammation, extracellular matrix remodeling, oxidative stress, NETosis, and coagulation. The study also establishes the golden Syrian hamster as a viable model for e-cigarette vaping and its impact on respiratory infections. The findings emphasize the need for further research to understand the long-term health effects of e-cigarette vaping and the potential risks associated with respiratory viral infections in e-cigarette users.

hinds DM, Nick hJ, Vallin TM, et al. acute vaping in a golden Syrian hamster causes inflammatory response transcriptomic changes. american journal of physiology Lung cellular and molecular physiology. 2022;323(5):L525-L535. doi:10.1152/ajplung.00162.2022