Figure 1.
Nicotine aerosols reduce CFTR-mediated ion transport in human bronchial epithelial cells. A: a representative Ussing chamber-based electrophysiological trace depicting transepithelial ion transport measured in short circuit (Isc) units across primary human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells exposed for 10 min to either room air (Air control), aerosolized water base (Vehicle), or aerosolized 1.8% nicotine in an aqueous vehicle (Nicotine). Summary graphs demonstrate mean changes in amiloride-sensitive sodium ion absorption (B) and CFTR-mediated anion transport by forskolin (C). D: changes in epithelial ion transport attributable to CFTR are shown by changes to the addition of a specific pharmacologic inhibitor, CFTR-inh172. E: a summary of transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) values for HBE cell monolayers determined at baseline is shown. All Isc values are expressed as means ± SD, and statistical significance was interpreted by unpaired, two-tailed, nonparametric Mann–Whitney test; n = 5 individual HBE monolayers/condition, *P < 0.05, ns, not significant.