The role of acrolein for E-cigarette vapour condensate mediated activation of NADPH oxidase in cultured endothelial cells and macrophages

Electronic cigarettes (E-cigarettes) have recently become a popular alternative to traditional tobacco cigarettes. Despite being marketed as a healthier alternative, increasing evidence shows that E-cigarette vapour could cause adverse health effects. It has been postulated that degradation products of E-cigarette liquid, mainly reactive aldehydes, are responsible for those effects. Previously, we have demonstrated that E-cigarette vapour exposure causes oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, endothelial dysfunction and hypertension by activating NADPH oxidase in a mouse model. To better understand oxidative stress mechanisms, we have exposed cultured endothelial cells and macrophages to condensed E-cigarette vapour (E-cigarette condensate) and acrolein. In both endothelial cells (EA.hy 926) and macrophages (RAW 264.7), we have observed that E-cigarette condensate incubation causes cell death. Since recent studies have shown that among toxic aldehydes found in E-cigarette vapour, acrolein plays a prominent role, we have incubated the same cell lines with increasing concentrations of acrolein. Upon incubation with acrolein, a translocation of Rac1 to the plasma membrane has been observed, accompanied by an increase in oxidative stress. Whereas reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation by acrolein in cultured endothelial cells was mainly intracellular, the release of ROS in cultured macrophages was both intra- and extracellular. Our data also demonstrate that acrolein activates the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) antioxidant pathway and, in general, could mediate E-cigarette vapour-induced oxidative stress and cell death. More mechanistic insight is needed to clarify the toxicity associated with E-cigarette consumption and the possible adverse effects on human health

Co-exposure to urban particulate matter and aircraft noise adversely impacts the cerebro-pulmonary-cardiovascular axis in mice

Worldwide, up to 8.8 million excess deaths/year have been attributed to air pollution, mainly due to the exposure to fine particulate matter (PM). Traffic-related noise is an additional contributor to global mortality and morbidity. Both health risk factors substantially contribute to cardiovascular, metabolic and neuropsychiatric sequelae. Studies on the combined exposure are rare and urgently needed because of frequent co-occurrence of both risk factors in urban and industrial settings. To study the synergistic effects of PM and noise, we used an exposure system equipped with aerosol generator and loud-speakers, where C57BL/6 mice were acutely exposed for 3d to either ambient PM (NIST particles) and/or noise (aircraft landing and take-off events). The combination of both stressors caused endothelial dysfunction, increased blood pressure, oxidative stress and inflammation. An additive impairment of endothelial function was observed in isolated aortic rings and even more pronounced in cerebral and retinal arterioles. The increase in oxidative stress and inflammation markers together with RNA sequencing data indicate that noise particularly affects the brain and PM the lungs. The combination of both stressors has additive adverse effects on the cardiovascular system that are based on PM-induced systemic inflammation and noise-triggered stress hormone signaling. We demonstrate an additive upregulation of ACE-2 in the lung, suggesting that there may be an increased vulnerability to COVID-19 infection. The data warrant further mechanistic studies to characterize the propagation of primary target tissue damage (lung, brain) to remote organs such as aorta and heart by combined noise and PM exposure

Mechanistic studies on the adverse cardiovascular and cerebral effects of lifestyle and environmental risk factors - e-cigarette vapour, shisha smoke and aircraft noise - in cellular and murine models

With improvements in hygiene and medical care, environmental risk factors like aircraft noise and lifestyle choices such as e-cigarettes and shisha smoking gained prominence in global disease burden. This study used an established mouse model to investigate the link between the neuronal and cardiovascular systems under noise exposure. After exposing mice to aircraft noise for either 4 or 28 days, blood pressure and several oxidative stress markers were elevated and endothelial function was impaired. Neuroactive and antihypertensive drugs alleviated these effects, underscoring the role of psychological stress in noise-induced cardiovascular damage. Behavioural tests post-exposure showed that while 4 days of noise did not affect behaviour, 28 days-noise exposure impaired working memory and social interaction, though not consistent with the expected anxiety-like behaviour. After my group previously demonstrated effects of vaping on the cardiovascular oxidative stress, I exposed cultured endothelial cells and macrophages to either e-cigarette vapour condensate or acrolein, to explore the source of e-cigarette-induced oxidative stress. The results showed that both exposures followed the concentration-dependent effects on both cell types, and that acrolein can promote the NADPH-oxidase activation and generation of superoxide, as already published for e-cigarette vapour. The activation of Nrf2-dependent-stress-genes was also shown in DLD1-HO1-promotor cells after exposure to e-cigarette vapour and acrolein. Additionally, we established a mouse model of shisha smoke exposure and tested the effects shisha smoking has on cardiovascular and neuronal function in mice. Endothelial function was impaired in mice exposed to shisha smoke, but interestingly, blood pressure increased only marginally, probably due to the vasodilatory effects of CO in the shisha smoke. Selected markers of oxidative stress and inflammation were elevated in the heart, aortic and lung tissue, whereas only reactive oxygen species formation was elevated in the cortex. Increased oxidative stress markers, such as NQO-1 and HO-1 point to the activation of the Nrf2-pathway as a potent antioxidant response mechanism. This activation was confirmed in the DLD1-HO1-promotor cells exposed to particulate matter as it can be produced by coal and tobacco burning during a shisha session. This work is of interest for both basic scientists and medical professionals, as it provides a deeper insight into the possible mechanisms by which environmental and lifestyle risk factors affect the cardiovascular system.VI, 119 Seiten ; Illustrationen, Diagramm

Tobacco smoking and vascular biology and function : evidence from human studies

Tobacco cigarette smoking is among the most complex and least understood health risk factors. A deeper insight into the pathophysiological actions of smoking exposure is of special importance as smoking is a major cause of chronic non-communicable diseases, in particular of cardiovascular disease as well as risk factors such as atherosclerosis and arterial hypertension. It is well known that smoking exerts its negative effects on cardiovascular health through various interdependent pathophysiological actions including hemodynamic and autonomic alterations, oxidative stress, inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, thrombosis, and hyperlipidemia. Importantly, impaired vascular endothelial function is acknowledged as an early key event in the initiation and progression of smoking-induced atherosclerosis. Increasing evidence from human studies indicates that cigarette smoke exposure associates with a pathological state of the vascular endothelium mainly characterized by reduced vascular nitric oxide bioavailability due to increased vascular superoxide production. In the present overview, we provide compact evidence on the effects of tobacco cigarette smoke exposure on vascular biology and function in humans centered on main drivers of adverse cardiovascular effects including endothelial dysfunction, inflammation, and oxidative stress

Noise and mental health: evidence, mechanisms, and consequences

The recognition of noise exposure as a prominent environmental determinant of public health has grown substantially. While recent years have yielded a wealth of evidence linking environmental noise exposure primarily to cardiovascular ailments, our understanding of the detrimental effects of noise on the brain and mental health outcomes remains limited. Despite being a nascent research area, an increasing body of compelling research and conclusive findings confirms that exposure to noise, particularly from sources such as traffic, can potentially impact the central nervous system. These harms of noise increase the susceptibility to mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, suicide, and behavioral problems in children and adolescents. From a mechanistic perspective, several investigations propose direct adverse phenotypic changes in brain tissue by noise (e.g. neuroinflammation, cerebral oxidative stress), in addition to feedback signaling by remote organ damage, dysregulated immune cells, and impaired circadian rhythms, which may collectively contribute to noise-dependent impairment of mental health. This concise review linking noise exposure to mental health outcomes seeks to fill research gaps by assessing current findings from studies involving both humans and animals

Measurement of Tetrahydrobiopterin in Animal Tissue Samples by HPLC with Electrochemical Detection—Protocol Optimization and Pitfalls

Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) is an essential cofactor of all nitric oxide synthase isoforms, thus determination of BH4 levels can provide important mechanistic insight into diseases. We established a protocol for high-performance liquid chromatography/electrochemical detection (HPLC/ECD)-based determination of BH4 in tissue samples. We first determined the optimal storage and work-up conditions for authentic BH4 and its oxidation product dihydrobiopterin (BH2) under various conditions (pH, temperature, presence of antioxidants, metal chelators, and storage time). We then applied optimized protocols for detection of BH4 in tissues of septic (induced by lipopolysaccharide [LPS]) rats. BH4 standards in HCl are stabilized by addition of 1,4-dithioerythritol (DTE) and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), while HCl was sufficient for BH2 standard stabilization. Overnight storage of BH4 standard solutions at room temperature in HCl without antioxidants caused complete loss of BH4 and the formation of BH2. We further optimized the protocol to separate ascorbate and the BH4 tissue sample and found a significant increase in BH4 in the heart and kidney as well as higher BH4 levels by trend in the brain of septic rats compared to control rats. These findings correspond to reports on augmented nitric oxide and BH4 levels in both animals and patients with septic shock

Quercetin/β-Cyclodextrin Solid Complexes Prepared in Aqueous Solution Followed by Spray-drying or by Physical Mixture

The present study was designed to investigate the influence of operating conditions (temperature, stirring time, and excess amount of quercetin) on the complexation of quercetin with β-cyclodextrin using a 23 factorial design. The highest aqueous solubility of quercetin was reached under the conditions 37°C/24 h/6 mM of quercetin. The stoichiometric ratio (1:1) and the apparent stability constant (Ks = 230 M−1) of the quercetin/β-cyclodextrin complex were determined using phase-solubility diagrams. The semi-industrial production of a 1:1 quercetin/β-cyclodextrin solid complex was carried out in aqueous solution followed by spray-drying. Although the yield of the spray-drying process was adequate (77%), the solid complex presented low concentration of quercetin (0.14%, w/w) and, thus, low complexation efficiency. The enhancement of aqueous solubility of quercetin using this method was limited to 4.6-fold in the presence of 15 mM of β-cyclodextrin. Subsequently, an inclusion complex was prepared via physical mixture of quercetin with β-cyclodextrin (molar ratio of 1:1 and quercetin concentration of 23% (w/w)) and characterized using infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy analyses. The enhancement of aqueous solubility of quercetin using this method was 2.2-fold, similar to that found in the complex prepared in aqueous solution before the spray-drying process (2.5-fold at a molar ratio of 1:1, i.e., 6 mM of quercetin and 6 mM of β-cyclodextrin)