Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Hallym University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Sci Rep. 2020 Feb 13;10(1):2544. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-59290-y.
Since electronic-cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are considered less toxic than conventional tobacco smoking, the use of e-cigarettes has increased, and the market for e-cigarette liquids (e-liquids) is continuously increasing. However, many studies showed that e-cigarettes may cause various harmful effects in lung, oral and heart. In this study, we investigated the effects of e-liquids on otitis media (OM) using human middle ear epithelial cells (HMEECs). Menthol-flavored e-liquid induced significant cell death in HMEECs (IC: 1.45 ± 0.14%) and tobacco-flavored e-liquid led to increase in inflammatory cytokine levels and higher mucin production. Flavored e-liquids decreased the mRNA levels of genes encoding epithelial sodium channels (ENaCs) in HMEECs. Apoptosis and autophagy reactions were induced by exposure of HMEECs to menthol- and tobacco-flavored e-liquids. Tobacco-flavored e-liquids caused a greater increase in the levels of autophagosome marker, LC3-II, compared to menthol-flavored e-liquids, which was followed by cell death. These results demonstrate that flavored e-liquids cause cytotoxicity via apoptosis, autophagy, inflammatory response, and mucin production in HMEECs. The flavors present in e-liquids might be a risk factor for the development of otitis media.
由于电子烟（e-cigarettes）被认为比传统烟草吸烟毒性更小，因此电子烟的使用量增加了，电子烟液（e-liquids）的市场也在不断扩大。然而，许多研究表明，电子烟可能会对肺部、口腔和心脏造成各种有害影响。在这项研究中，我们使用人中耳上皮细胞（HMEECs）研究了电子烟液对中耳炎（otitis media，OM）的影响。薄荷味电子烟液诱导 HMEECs 发生显著的细胞死亡（IC：1.45±0.14%），烟草味电子烟液导致炎症细胞因子水平升高和粘蛋白产生增加。调味电子烟液降低了 HMEECs 中编码上皮钠通道（ENaCs）的基因的 mRNA 水平。暴露于薄荷味和烟草味电子烟液会诱导 HMEECs 发生细胞凋亡和自噬反应。与薄荷味电子烟液相比，烟草味电子烟液导致自噬小体标志物 LC3-II 的水平显著增加，随后发生细胞死亡。这些结果表明，调味电子烟液通过凋亡、自噬、炎症反应和粘蛋白产生导致 HMEECs 发生细胞毒性。电子烟液中的风味可能是中耳炎发展的一个风险因素。
