ArticleJournal of molecular medicine (Berlin, Germany)2016
Electronic cigarette inhalation alters innate immunity and airway cytokines while increasing the virulence of colonizing bacteria.
Article in Journal of molecular medicine (Berlin, Germany), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 164 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
164 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 274 citations in OpenAlex.
- Clinical features, radiological findings, and mortality in patients with e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Association between e-cigarette use and COVID-19 diagnosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of the Literature Examining the Effects of Cigarette Smoke and e-Cigarette Vapor on the Virulence of Human Pathogenic Bacteria.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Lung Damage Caused by Heated Tobacco Products and Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- E-cigarette use and respiratory disorders: an integrative review of converging evidence from epidemiological and laboratory studies.The European respiratory journal · 2021Pooled it
- Overview of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems: A Systematic Review.American journal of preventive medicine · 2017Pooled it
- E-cigarette exposure triggers distal lung cell injury, persistent lung stress response, and antiviral immune suppression.JCI insight · 2026Article
- Impact of e-cigarette vaping on the immune system across the body.Physiological reviews · 2026Review
- Vaping-related lung disease: a narrative review.Journal of thoracic disease · 2026Review
- Molecular Health Effects of Electronic Cigarettes.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- Berry e-liquid flavour toxicities are not equal on an alveolar-capillary barrier cell model according to two exposure methods.Frontiers in toxicology · 2026Article
- Natural and synthetic chemicals acting as enhancers of bacterial pathogenic success within the human host.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Review
- Multisystem Toxicity of E-Cigarettes in Preclinical and Clinical Studies: Pathophysiologic Effects of E-Cigarette Aerosol Exposures from Head to Toe.Annual review of pharmacology and toxicology · 2026Review
- Vaping induces a marked pro-inflammatory state within the lung, which is at least partially due to its immunomodulatory effects.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- The association between smoking and COVID-19 symptoms, severity, and post-COVID-19 symptoms: a cross-sectional survey study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Cytotoxic and oxidative effects of commercially available propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerin (VG): Common humectants in electronic cigarettes.Toxicology reports · 2025Article
- Analysing the acute toxicity of e-cigarette liquids and their vapour on human lung epithelial (A549) cellsToxicology reports · 2025Article
- The respiratory epithelium in the era of vaping: insights fromEuropean respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2025Review
- CYP1B1 Mediates Cigarette Smoke-Induced Lipid Accumulation in Alveolar Type 2 Cells.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2025Article
104 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
unlabelledElectronic (e)-cigarette use is rapidly rising, with 20 % of Americans ages 25-44 now using these drug delivery devices. E-cigarette users expose their airways, cells of host defense, and colonizing bacteria to e-cigarette vapor (EV). Here, we report that exposure of human epithelial cells at the air-liquid interface to fresh EV (vaped from an e-cigarette device) resulted in dose-dependent cell death. After exposure to EV, cells of host defense-epithelial cells, alveolar macrophages, and neutrophils-had reduced antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (SA). Mouse inhalation of EV for 1 h daily for 4 weeks led to alterations in inflammatory markers within the airways and elevation of an acute phase reactant in serum. Upon exposure to e-cigarette vapor extract (EVE), airway colonizer SA had increased biofilm formation, adherence and invasion of epithelial cells, resistance to human antimicrobial peptide LL-37, and up-regulation of virulence genes. EVE-exposed SA were more virulent in a mouse model of pneumonia. These data suggest that e-cigarettes may be toxic to airway cells, suppress host defenses, and promote inflammation over time, while also promoting virulence of colonizing bacteria. KEY MESSAGE: Acute exposure to e-cigarette vapor (EV) is cytotoxic to airway cells in vitro. Acute exposure to EV decreases macrophage and neutrophil antimicrobial function. Inhalation of EV alters immunomodulating cytokines in the airways of mice. Inhalation of EV leads to increased markers of inflammation in BAL and serum. Staphylococcus aureus become more virulent when exposed to EV.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.