Browsing by Author "Ekpruke, Carolyn Damilola"

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    Sex Differences in Airway Remodeling and Inflammation: Clinical and Biological Factors
    (Frontiers Media, 2022-04-29) Ekpruke, Carolyn Damilola; Silveyra, Patricia; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Asthma is characterized by an increase in the contraction and inflammation of airway muscles, resulting in airflow obstruction. The prevalence of asthma is lower in females than in males until the start of puberty, and higher in adult women than men. This sex disparity and switch at the onset of puberty has been an object of debate among many researchers. Hence, in this review, we have summarized these observations to pinpoint areas needing more research work and to provide better sex-specific diagnosis and management of asthma. While some researchers have attributed it to the anatomical and physiological differences in the male and female respiratory systems, the influences of hormonal interplay after puberty have also been stressed. Other hormones such as leptin have been linked to the sex differences in asthma in both obese and non-obese patients. Recently, many scientists have also demonstrated the influence of the sex-specific genomic framework as a key player, and others have linked it to environmental, social lifestyle, and occupational exposures. The majority of studies concluded that adult men are less susceptible to developing asthma than women and that women display more severe forms of the disease. Therefore, the understanding of the roles played by sex- and gender-specific factors, and the biological mechanisms involved will help develop novel and more accurate diagnostic and therapeutic plans for sex-specific asthma management.
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    Thirdhand vaping exposures are associated with pulmonary and systemic inflammation in a mouse model
    (OAE, 2023) Commodore, Sarah; Sharma, Shikha; Ekpruke, Carolyn Damilola; Pepin, Robert; Hansen, Angela M.; Rousselle, Dustin; Babayev, Maksat; Ndeke, Jonas M.; Alford, Rachel; Parker, Erik; Dickinson, Stephanie; Sharma, Sunita; Silveyra, Patricia; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Thirdhand smoke (THS) is the accumulation of secondhand smoke on surfaces that ages with time. THS exposure is a potential health threat to children, partners of smokers, and workers in environments with current or past smoking, and needs further investigation. In this study, we hypothesized that thirdhand Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) exposures elicit lung and systemic inflammation due to resuspended particulate matter (PM) and inorganic compounds that remain after active vaping has ceased. To test our hypothesis, we exposed C57BL/6J mice to cotton towels contaminated with ENDS aerosols from unflavored vape fluid (6 mg nicotine in 50/50 propylene glycol/vegetable glycerin) for 1h/day, five days/week, for three weeks. We assessed protein levels in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) using a multiplex protein assay. The mean ± sd for PM10 and PM2.5 measurements in exposed mouse cages were 8.3 ± 14.0 and 4.6 ± 7.5 μg/m3, compared to 6.1 ± 11.2 and 3.7 ± 6.6 μg/m3 in control cages respectively. Two compounds, 4-methyl-1, 2-dioxolane and 4-methyl-cyclohexanol, were detected in vape fluid and on ENDS-contaminated towels, but not on control towels. Mice exposed to ENDS-contaminated towels had lower levels of serum Il-7 (P = 0.022, n = 7), and higher levels of Il-13 in the BALF (P = 0.006, n = 7) than those exposed to control towels (n = 6). After adjusting for sex and age, Il-7 and Il-13 levels were still associated with thirdhand vaping exposure (P = 0.010 and P = 0.017, respectively). This study provides further evidence that thirdhand ENDS aerosols can contaminate surfaces, and subsequently influence lung and systemic health upon exposure.