Vapers are more vulnerable to viruses than non-smokers but also than smokers of traditional cigarettes. They also show deletions of genes, proteins and antibodies that would make vaccines, like the one against Covid, less effective.
- Vapers showed more changes in the immune genes of their virus-fighting respiratory cells and a suppressed level of antibodies.
- The immune shift is even more pronounced in e-cigarette users than in smokers.
- The deletion of genes questions the effectiveness of vaccines.
With winter approaching and in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, these results are not encouraging for vapers. Researchers from UNC-Chapel Hill (USA) have found that e-cigarette users are more susceptible to respiratory viruses than the rest of the population, including traditional cigarette smokers. They also show suppressed antibodies, suggesting vaccines will be less effective. The results of this study were presented on October 23 in the medical journal American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology.
The e-cigarette worse than the cigarette
Smoking electronic cigarettes changes our body’s response to respiratory viruses, such as the flu or Covid-19. “There have been a lot of questions in the field as to whether e-cigarette and cigarette use is beneficial or harmful or problematic in terms of Covid, and we really haven’t had a good answer”, continues Meghan Rebuli, assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UNC and author of the study.
Vapers showed more changes in the immune genes of their virus-fighting respiratory cells and a suppressed level of antibodies. Comparing vapers, traditional smokers and non-smokers, the researchers found that the immune shift is even more pronounced in e-cigarette users than in smokers. “Using e-cigarettes is no less or safer than cigarettes, and that’s a very important take-home message.supports Meghan Rebuli. You probably shouldn’t inhale any kind of tobacco-related products, all of these impair your immune response to viruses.”
Vaccines less effective in smokers
The study focused on the immune response to a certain model of influenza but “results suggest e-cigarette users are likely more susceptible to respiratory viruses like Covid-19 than non-smokers”, adds the researcher. Scientists inoculated participants, who mix cigarette or e-cigarette smokers and non-smokers, with a live attenuated influenza virus, a modeled influenza infection that allows researchers to safely examine immune responses. After comparing the patients’ nasal fluid and other biomarkers, the researchers did not find that viral load differed between the three study groups, but they did find a decrease in immune gene expression in smokers. essential to defend against a virus as well as the genes that help train the body to prevent re-infection. “It’s not good”, responded Ilona Jaspers, director of the UNC Center for Environmental Medicine, Asthma and Pulmonary Biology.
“We don’t want to see any deletion of genes, proteins and antibodies involved in an immune response”, shared Meghan Rebuli. Yet this is what she and her colleagues have found in conventional smokers and vapers. This could be worrying news for vaccine effectiveness in this population, the researchers say. These genes are important in helping the immune system recognize a virus it has encountered before. “Your body can recognize the virus and create a sort of immune memory that prevents you from getting infected later.she explained. This is how a vaccine works.”
“The question is whether a 90% effective vaccine will also be effective in e-cigarette users or will they struggle to generate that immune memory?”, asks Meghan Rebuli. The latter adds that other studies are necessary to study this in response to Covid-19, while the American laboratory Moderna has just announced that its vaccine candidate has an efficiency of 94.5%, Pfizer that its works at 90% and Sputnik V, the Russian candidate, at 92%.
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