Pregnant women advised to avoid mentholated e-cigarettes

Vapen during pregnancy is increasingly 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 taste -chemical menthol used in electronic cigarettes could pose risks for an developing baby.

The studyPublished in Stem cells translational medicineused human embryonic stem cells (HESCs) to characterize early stages of embryonic development and investigated how low concentrations of Menthol influence important cellular processes.

The researchers found the concentration of Menthol in the blood of pregnant women who is sufficient to activate stress -related channels that are temporarily called potential channels in the HESCs.

“This activation led to inhibition of cell growth, raised cell death and abnormal cell movement in the HESCs,” said Shabnam Etemadi, first author of the research article and a graduate student of bio -engineering who works with Prue Talbot, a professor of the Graduate Division. “These changes can disrupt with a critical stage of development, gastrough, which may increase the risk of birth errors.”

Temporary receptor potential channels are a large family of ion channels that are 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 odor.

The researchers discovered that one of the channels, the TRPA1 channel, was activated by nanomolar concentrations of Menthol, which their exposure model predicts that it would be in the blood of pregnant women who would reach courses and the embryo.

Etemadi explained that gastruculation includes the movement of epiblast cells – cells that can differentiate in any cell type in the body – to form the definitive endoderm and the mesoderm. Gastulation is considered a critical development phase because it is the process in which the three primary germ layers – the ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm – are formed during the third or fourth week of development, she said.

“These germ layers serve as the building blocks for all future organs and tissues in the embryo; any disruption in this phase can lead to significant structural birth defects as a result of the wrong allocation of cells intended for specific tissues and organs,” she added.

Talbot, the senior author of the research paper, said that the findings emphasize the need for more research into how Vapen can harm the embryonic and fetal development during pregnancy and points to possible dangers of the use of ment electronic cigarettes.

“The use of e-cigarettes by pregnant women should be discouraged until the effects on their embryos of taste chemicals, such as Menthol, are fully understood,” she said.