Cytotoxic Evaluation of e-Liquid Aerosol using Different Lung-Derived Cell Models

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 12; no. 10; pp. 12466 - 12474
• Main Authors: Scheffler, Stefanie, Dieken, Hauke, Krischenowski, Olaf, Aufderheide, Michaela
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 05.10.2015; MDPI
• Subjects: Aerosols; Cell Line; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Survival - drug effects; Cytotoxicity; Electronic cigarettes; Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems - adverse effects; Epithelial Cells - drug effects; Humans; Lung - cytology; Nicotiana; Smoke - adverse effects; Studies; Testing; Toxicity Tests, Acute - methods; Toxicology; nicotine; air-liquid interface; electronic cigarette; smoking; tobacco; CULTEX® RFS; cytotoxicity; immortalized normal bronchial epithelial cells; public health; CL-1548
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph121012466

The in vitro toxicological evaluation of e-liquid aerosol is an important aspect of consumer protection, but the cell model is of great significance. Due to its water solubility, e-liquid aerosol is deposited in the conducting zone of the respiratory tract. Therefore, primary normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells are more suitable for e-liquid aerosol testing than the widely used alveolar cell line A549. Due to their prolonged lifespan, immortalized cell lines derived from primary NHBE cells, exhibiting a comparable in vitro differentiation, might be an alternative for acute toxicity testing. In our study, A549 cells freshly isolated NHBE cells and the immortalized cell line CL-1548 were exposed at the air-liquid interface to e-liquid aerosol and cigarette mainstream smoke in a CULTEX(®) RFS compact module. The cell viability was analyzed 24 h post-exposure. In comparison with primary NHBE cells, the CL-1548 cell line showed lower sensitivity to e-liquid aerosol but significantly higher sensitivity compared to A549 cells. Therefore, the immortalized cell line CL-1548 is recommended as a tool for the routine testing of e-liquid aerosol and is preferable to A549 cells.