In Utero Exposure to Electronic Cigarettes Causes Cerebrovascular Impairment with Aging

Abstract

Electronic cigarettes (Ecigs) are being promoted as safer than traditional tobacco cigarettes, leading to increased use even during pregnancy. However, the risks associated with Ecig usage during pregnancy on offspring has not been examined.Rat dams were either exposed to nicotine‐free Ecig vapor (Ecig+0) or ambient air. Rat pups were sacrificed at either one month (Air n=6, Ecig+0 n=5) or three months (Air n=4, Ecig+0 n=3). Maternal Ecig exposure (Joyetech eGrip OLED using 5‐sec puff @ 17.5 W) consisted of 30 puffs over 1‐hour each day, 5 days/week, resulting in an average daily TPM of 120mg/m3. Maternal exposure began on gestational day 2 and continued until pups were weaned. Pups themselves were never directly exposed to Ecig vapors. To examine cerebrovascular function, the middle cerebral artery (MCA) was isolated positioned in a pressurized myobath and exposed to increasing concentrations of acetylcholine (Ach; 10−9M to 10−4M), serotonin (5‐HT; 10−9M to 10−4M) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP; 10−9M to 10−4M).Significant impairment in MCA dilation to the highest dose of Ach was observed in Ecig+0 compared to air exposed pups at one month of age (13±2% vs. 30±1%, ANOVA p<0.05, respectively) as well as at three months of age (8±1% vs 23±2%, ANOVA p<0.05, respectively). The magnitude of decline in vascular reactivity for Ecig+0 exposed pups at one month and three months was different, although not statistically significant (ANOVA p<0.08). MCA constriction to 5‐HT was similar across all groups and only slight nonsignificant differences were noted in endothelial‐independent dilation in response to SNP.These data suggest offspring born to mothers who vape during pregnancy have impaired cerebrovascular function, with this impairment worsening with age, suggesting there are risks to the offspring associated with maternal Ecig use.Support or Funding InformationWVU Cancer Institute Philip R Dino Innovative Research Grant (IMO); APS STRIDE Fellowship (JO); NIHGMS 5U54GM104942‐03 (PDC)This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.