ArticleAmerican journal of physiology. Lung cellular and molecular physiology2017
Flavored e-cigarette liquids reduce proliferation and viability in the CALU3 airway epithelial cell line.
Article in American journal of physiology. Lung cellular and molecular physiology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 72 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
72 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pulmonary effects of e-liquid flavors: a systematic review.Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part B, Critical reviews · 2022Pooled it
- E-cigarette use and respiratory disorders: an integrative review of converging evidence from epidemiological and laboratory studies.The European respiratory journal · 2021Pooled it
- Impact of e-cigarette vaping on the immune system across the body.Physiological reviews · 2026Review
- Comparative toxicity of menthol- and tobacco-flavored electronic cigarette constituents inducing inflammation, epithelial barrier dysfunction, and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor modulation in the absence of nicotine.Toxicology reports · 2026Article
- Oxidative stress mediates cardiac electrophysiological injury in inhalation exposure to flavored vaping products.Heart rhythm · 2026Article
- Analysing the acute toxicity of e-cigarette liquids and their vapour on human lung epithelial (A549) cellsToxicology reports · 2025Article
- Exploring the Impact of E-cigarettes on Cardiovascular Health: Insights from Preclinical and Clinical Studies.Cardiovascular toxicology · 2025Review
- Impact of nicotine-free and nicotine-rich flavored electronic cigarette refill liquids on primary human melanocyte function.Toxicology reports · 2025Article
- The effects of flavored vaped e-liquids on cultured human macrophages derived from the central and peripheral nervous systems.Toxicology in vitro : an international journal published in association with BIBRA · 2025Article
- E-Cigarette effects on oral health: A molecular perspective.Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association · 2025Review
- Article
- Vaping and tumor metastasis: current insights and progress.Cancer metastasis reviews · 2024Review
- GC/HRMS Analysis of E-Liquids Complements In Vivo Modeling Methods and can Help to Predict Toxicity.ACS omega · 2024Article
- Multidimensional assessment of the biological effects of electronic cigarettes on lung bronchial epithelial cells.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- In vitro toxicological evaluation of aerosols generated by a 4th generation vaping device using nicotine salts in an air-liquid interface system.Respiratory research · 2024Article
- Prospective study of e-cigarette use and respiratory symptoms in adolescents and young adults.Thorax · 2024Article
- Toxicological assessment of E-cigarette flavored E-liquids aerosols using Calu-3 cells: A 3D lung model approach.Toxicology · 2023Article
- Electronic cigarette exposure disrupts airway epithelial barrier function and exacerbates viral infection.American journal of physiology. Lung cellular and molecular physiology · 2023Article
- Multimodal Diagnostics of Changes in Rat Lungs after Vaping.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Nicotine promotes e-cigarette vapour-induced lung inflammation and structural alterations.The European respiratory journal · 2023Article
12 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
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
E-cigarettes are generally thought of as a safer smoking alternative to traditional cigarettes. However, little is known about the effects of e-cigarette liquids (e-liquids) on the lung. Since over 7,000 unique flavors have been identified for purchase in the United States, our goal was to conduct a screen that would test whether different flavored e-liquids exhibited different toxicant profiles. We tested the effects of 13 different flavored e-liquids [with nicotine and propylene glycol/vegetable glycerin (PG/VG) serving as controls] on a lung epithelial cell line (CALU3). Using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay as an indicator of cell proliferation/viability, we demonstrated a dose-dependent decrease of MTT metabolism by all flavors tested. However, a group of four flavors consistently showed significantly greater toxicity compared with the PG/VG control, indicating the potential for some flavors to elicit more harmful effects than others. We also tested the aerosolized "vapor" from select e-liquids on cells and found similar dose-dependent trends, suggesting that direct e-liquid exposures are a justifiable first-pass screening approach for determining relative e-liquid toxicity. We then identified individual chemical constituents for all 13 flavors using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. These data revealed that beyond nicotine and PG/VG, the 13 flavored e-liquids have diverse chemical constituents. Since all of the flavors exhibited some degree of toxicity and a diverse array of chemical constituents with little inhalation toxicity available, we conclude that flavored e-liquids should be extensively tested on a case-by-case basis to determine the potential for toxicity in the lung and elsewhere.
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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.