Pregnant Women Warned Against Mentholated E-Cigarettes Due to Potential Risks: Study
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Vaping during pregnancy is becoming more common, but its impact on early human development is not well understood. A new study by scientists at the University of California, Riverside, now reports that the flavor chemical menthol used in electronic cigarettes could pose risks to a developing baby.
The study, published in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, used human embryonic stem cells, or hESCs, to characterize early stages of embryonic development and examined how low concentrations of menthol affect important cellular processes.
The researchers found the concentration of menthol in the blood of pregnant women who vape is enough to activate stress-related channels called Transient Receptor Potential channels in the hESCs.
Transient Receptor Potential channels are a large family of ion channels located in the membranes of many different cell types, including in reproductive tissues and embryos. They are involved in a wide range of sensory and physiological processes, including detecting heat, cold, pain, pressure, taste, and smell.
The researchers found that one of the channels, the TRPA1 channel, was activated by nanomolar concentrations of menthol, which their exposure model predicts would be in the blood of pregnant women who vape and would reach the embryo.
A senior researcher said the findings highlight the need for more research on how vaping during pregnancy may harm embryonic and fetal development and point to possible dangers of using mentholated electronic cigarettes.
The use of e-cigarettes by pregnant women should be discouraged until the effects on their embryos of flavor chemicals, such as menthol, are fully understood.
Ref: Etemadi S. Menthol, a Consumer Product Additive, Adversely Effects Human Embryonic Cells via Activation of TRPM8 and TRPA1 Channels; Stem Cells Translational Medicine: 10.1093/stcltm/szae099.
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