Description

Vaping has recently emerged as a safer alternative to cigarette smoking. It has become prevalent in the last decade, especially popular among teenagers. Very little research has been done on this topic affecting millions of people who vape daily. This study uses a mouse model to induce vaping-induced pulmonary injury by the use of JUUL vape pens. Numerous pathological changes were observed after 9 weeks of mice vaping, including changes in the upper airway, lung tissue architecture, and cellular structure. Histologic studies found increased parenchyma tissue density, cellular infiltrates near airway passages, alveolar rarefaction, increased collagen deposition, and bronchial thickening with elastin fiber disruption. Significant changes to gene families coding for xenobiotic response, glycerolipid metabolic processes, and oxidative stress were found by transcriptional reprogramming. Echocardiography analysis showed moderate but significant impairment to cardiac contraction. Parameters measured by echocardiography include ejection fraction (EF), fractional shortening (FS), end-systolic left ventricular internal dimension (LVIDs), and left ventricular end-systolic volume (LV Vol S). Right ventricular chamber enlargement was also observed. These findings demonstrate both pulmonary and cardiac damage related to vaping.