skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Title: E-Cigarette Exposure Decreases Bone Marrow Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells
Electronic cigarettes (E-cigs) generate nicotine containing aerosols for inhalation and have emerged as a popular tobacco product among adolescents and young adults, yet little is known about their health effects due to their relatively recent introduction. Few studies have assessed the long-term effects of inhaling E-cigarette smoke or vapor. Here, we show that two months of E-cigarette exposure causes suppression of bone marrow hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). Specifically, the common myeloid progenitors and granulocyte-macrophage progenitors were decreased in E-cig exposed animals compared to air exposed mice. Competitive reconstitution in bone marrow transplants was not affected by two months of E-cig exposure. When air and E-cig exposed mice were challenged with an inflammatory stimulus using lipopolysaccharide (LPS), competitive fitness between the two groups was not significantly different. However, mice transplanted with bone marrow from E-cigarette plus LPS exposed mice had elevated monocytes in their peripheral blood at five months post-transplant indicating a myeloid bias similar to responses of aged hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) to an acute inflammatory challenge. We also investigated whether E-cigarette exposure enhances the selective advantage of hematopoietic cells with myeloid malignancy associated mutations. E-cigarette exposure for one month slightly increased JAK2V617F mutant cells in peripheral blood but did not have an impact on TET2−/− cells. Altogether, our findings reveal that chronic E-cigarette exposure for two months alters the bone marrow HSPC populations but does not affect HSC reconstitution in primary transplants.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1936833
PAR ID:
10195013
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Cancers
Volume:
12
Issue:
8
ISSN:
2072-6694
Page Range / eLocation ID:
2292
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Across vertebrates, hematopoiesis takes place within designated tissues, wherein committed myeloid progenitors further differentiate toward cells with megakaryocyte/erythroid potential (MEP) or those with granulocyte/macrophage potential (GMP). While the liver periphery (LP) of the Xenopus laevis amphibian functions as a principal site of hematopoiesis and contains MEPs, cells with GMP potential are instead segregated to the bone marrow (BM) of this animal. Presently, using gene expression and western blot analyses of blood cell lineage-specific transcription factors, we confirmed that while the X. laevis LP hosts hematopoietic stem cells and MEPs, their BM contains GMPs. In support of our hypothesis that cells bearing GMP potential originate from the frog LP and migrate through blood circulation to the BM in response to chemical cues; we demonstrated that medium conditioned by the X. laevis BM chemoattracts LP and peripheral blood cells. Compared to LP and by examining a comprehensive panel of chemokine genes, we showed that the X. laevis BM possessed greater expression of a single chemokine, CXCL12, the recombinant form of which was chemotactic to LP and peripheral blood cells and appeared to be a major chemotactic component within BM-conditioned medium. In confirmation of the hepatic origin of the cells that give rise to these frogs' GMPs, we also demonstrated that the X. laevis BM supported the growth of their LP-derived cells. 
    more » « less
  2. The paucity of blood granulocyte populations such as neutrophils in laboratory mice is a notable difference between this model organism and humans, but the cause of this species-specific difference is unclear. We previously demonstrated that laboratory mice released into a seminatural environment, referred to as rewilding, display an increase in blood granulocytes that is associated with expansion of fungi in the gut microbiota. Here, we find that tonic signals from fungal colonization induce sustained granulopoiesis through a mechanism distinct from emergency granulopoiesis, leading to a prolonged expansion of circulating neutrophils that promotes immunity. Fungal colonization after either rewilding or oral inoculation of laboratory mice withCandida albicansinduced persistent expansion of myeloid progenitors in the bone marrow. This increase in granulopoiesis conferred greater long-term protection from bloodstream infection by gram-positive bacteria than by the trained immune response evoked by transient exposure to the fungal cell wall component β-glucan. Consequently, introducing fungi into laboratory mice may restore aspects of leukocyte development and provide a better model for humans and free-living mammals that are constantly exposed to environmental fungi. 
    more » « less
  3. Hematologic malignancies are a prevalent group of cancers that originate from abnormal hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in the bone marrow. As these cells differentiate to produce all blood cell types, their mutation and/or abnormal differentiation results in a wide range of diseases and complications. Current treatments for hematologic maligancies include chemotherapy and HSC transplants, both of which engender detrimental side effects that the patient must endure, and the end result is still often death. Thus, there exists a dire need for alternative methods to treat hematologic malignancies. Researchers have recently begun to explore the use of biomimetic nanotherapeutic to treat these cancers and mitigate their side effects, with promising results. Biomimetic nanoparticles (NPs) imitate naturally occurring structures such as cells through various techniques to avoid immune recognition and target specific locations in the body; by exploiting cells’ expression of “self‐recognition” molecules and their unique homing abilities, biomimetic NPs can deliver therapeutic cargo precisely to diseased cells while minimizing risks of toxicity. Herein, several biomimetic nanomedicines are reviewed that are investigated as treatments for hematologic malignancies and offers perspective on the future of this approach as a therapeutic strategy. 
    more » « less
  4. Abstract Approximately 7% of pregnant women in the United States use electronic-cigarette (e-cig) devices during pregnancy. There is, however, no scientific evidence to support e-cig use as being ‘safe’ during pregnancy. Little is known about the effects of fetal exposures to e-cig aerosols on lung alveologenesis. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that in utero exposure to e-cig aerosol impairs lung alveologenesis and pulmonary function in neonates. Pregnant BALB/c mice were exposed 2 h a day for 20 consecutive days during gestation to either filtered air or cinnamon-flavored e-cig aerosol (36 mg/mL of nicotine). Lung tissue was collected in offspring during lung alveologenesis on postnatal day (PND) 5 and PND11. Lung function was measured at PND11. Exposure to e-cig aerosol in utero led to a significant decrease in body weights at birth which was sustained through PND5. At PND5, in utero e-cig exposures dysregulated genes related to Wnt signaling and epigenetic modifications in both females (~ 120 genes) and males (40 genes). These alterations were accompanied by reduced lung fibrillar collagen content at PND5—a time point when collagen content is close to its peak to support alveoli formation. In utero exposure to e-cig aerosol also increased the Newtonian resistance of offspring at PND11, suggesting a narrowing of the conducting airways. At PND11, in females, transcriptomic dysregulation associated with epigenetic alterations was sustained (17 genes), while WNT signaling dysregulation was largely resolved (10 genes). In males, at PND11, the expression of only 4 genes associated with epigenetics was dysregulated, while 16 Wnt related-genes were altered. These data demonstrate that in utero exposures to cinnamon-flavored e-cig aerosols alter lung structure and function and induce sex-specific molecular signatures during lung alveologenesis in neonatal mice. This may reflect epigenetic programming affecting lung disease development later in life. 
    more » « less
  5. Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a blood cancer characterized by dysregulated production of maturing myeloid cells driven by the product of the Philadelphia chromosome, the BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have proved effective in treating CML, but there is still a cohort of patients who do not respond to TKI therapy even in the absence of mutations in the BCR-ABL1 kinase domain that mediate drug resistance. To discover novel strategies to improve TKI therapy in CML, we developed a nonlinear mathematical model of CML hematopoiesis that incorporates feedback control and lineage branching. Cell–cell interactions were constrained using an automated model selection method together with previous observations and new in vivo data from a chimericBCR-ABL1transgenic mouse model of CML. The resulting quantitative model captures the dynamics of normal and CML cells at various stages of the disease and exhibits variable responses to TKI treatment, consistent with those of CML patients. The model predicts that an increase in the proportion of CML stem cells in the bone marrow would decrease the tendency of the disease to respond to TKI therapy, in concordance with clinical data and confirmed experimentally in mice. The model further suggests that, under our assumed similarities between normal and leukemic cells, a key predictor of refractory response to TKI treatment is an increased maximum probability of self-renewal of normal hematopoietic stem cells. We use these insights to develop a clinical prognostic criterion to predict the efficacy of TKI treatment and design strategies to improve treatment response. The model predicts that stimulating the differentiation of leukemic stem cells while applying TKI therapy can significantly improve treatment outcomes. 
    more » « less