TY - JOUR
T1 - The inflammatory biomarker YKL-40 is elevated in the serum, but not the sputum, of E-cigarette users
AU - Perez, Mario F.
AU - Atuegwu, Nkiruka C.
AU - Mortensen, Eric M.
AU - Oncken, Cheryl
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by National Cancer Institute, R01 CA207491; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, PRIDE-AiRE.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - Rationale: E-cigarettes are popular among youth and young adults and have been shown to be associated with pulmonary conditions such as asthma and COPD. YKL-40 may serve as a biomarker of pulmonary diseases and may predict the loss of pulmonary function among smokers. We hypothesized that similar to cigarette smokers, e-cigarette users will have higher levels of YKL-40 compared to non-tobacco users. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of adults between 18 and 55 years old. Inclusion criteria were: exclusive e-cigarette use or cigarette smoking for ≥ 1 year or no history of tobacco use. Participants with a history of pulmonary illness, atopy, medications (except birth control pills), marijuana, and illegal substance use were excluded. Custom Multiplex ELISA was used to measure YKL-40 and other biomarker levels in the serum and induced sputum of the participants. Multivariable linear regression was used to compare the levels of YLK-40 in healthy participants, e-cigarette, and cigarette users after adjusting for age, sex, and BMI. Results: We recruited 20 healthy controls, 23 cigarette smokers, and 22 exclusive e-cigarette users. Serum YKL-40 (ng/ml) was significantly higher in e-cigarette users (Median 21.2 [IQR 12.1-24.0] ng/ml) when compared to controls (12.2 [IQR 8.7-18.1] ng/ml, p = 0.016) but comparable to cigarette smokers (21.6 [IQR 11.62-51.7] ng/ml, p = 0.31). No significant differences were found in the serum or sputum of the other biomarkers tested. Conclusion: The inflammatory biomarker, YKL-40 is elevated in the serum but not the sputum of e-cigarette users with no reported pulmonary disease. Further research is necessary to characterize this association.
AB - Rationale: E-cigarettes are popular among youth and young adults and have been shown to be associated with pulmonary conditions such as asthma and COPD. YKL-40 may serve as a biomarker of pulmonary diseases and may predict the loss of pulmonary function among smokers. We hypothesized that similar to cigarette smokers, e-cigarette users will have higher levels of YKL-40 compared to non-tobacco users. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of adults between 18 and 55 years old. Inclusion criteria were: exclusive e-cigarette use or cigarette smoking for ≥ 1 year or no history of tobacco use. Participants with a history of pulmonary illness, atopy, medications (except birth control pills), marijuana, and illegal substance use were excluded. Custom Multiplex ELISA was used to measure YKL-40 and other biomarker levels in the serum and induced sputum of the participants. Multivariable linear regression was used to compare the levels of YLK-40 in healthy participants, e-cigarette, and cigarette users after adjusting for age, sex, and BMI. Results: We recruited 20 healthy controls, 23 cigarette smokers, and 22 exclusive e-cigarette users. Serum YKL-40 (ng/ml) was significantly higher in e-cigarette users (Median 21.2 [IQR 12.1-24.0] ng/ml) when compared to controls (12.2 [IQR 8.7-18.1] ng/ml, p = 0.016) but comparable to cigarette smokers (21.6 [IQR 11.62-51.7] ng/ml, p = 0.31). No significant differences were found in the serum or sputum of the other biomarkers tested. Conclusion: The inflammatory biomarker, YKL-40 is elevated in the serum but not the sputum of e-cigarette users with no reported pulmonary disease. Further research is necessary to characterize this association.
KW - E-cigarette
KW - YKl-40
KW - serum
KW - sputum
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U2 - 10.1080/01902148.2020.1847216
DO - 10.1080/01902148.2020.1847216
M3 - Article
C2 - 33200966
AN - SCOPUS:85096223034
SN - 0190-2148
VL - 47
SP - 55
EP - 66
JO - Experimental Lung Research
JF - Experimental Lung Research
IS - 2
ER -