# ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE VAPING & VASCULAR SEQUELAE IN THE UTERUS DURING  PREGNANCY.

> **NIH NIH R01** · WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $223,039

## Abstract

ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE VAPING & VASCULAR SEQUELAE IN THE UTERUS DURING PREGNANCY
 Despite serious pregnancy complications, 50% of women who use tobacco products will continue to do
so during pregnancy. A recent 2017 study estimates as many women use electronic-cigarettes (e-cigs) as
conventional cigarettes during pregnancy. One major reason for this alarming data is that traditional tobacco
users view vaping during pregnancy as a “safer” alternative. However, e-cig vapor reveals a myriad of
chemicals which may be harmful to both the mother and the fetus.
 Using our well-established pregnant rat model, we obtained preliminary data utilizing a state-of-the-art
custom-engineered e-cig atomizer that offered a translational inhalation delivery method and generated vapor
profiles directly comparable to human vaping. The preliminary data demonstrated e-cig-induced major fetal
growth deficit and provides the first evidence for impaired gestational circulatory adaptations including uterine
blood flow, the prime regulator of gas and nutrient delivery from mother to fetus. Aim#1 will test if vaping e-cig
base (propylene glycol: glycerin (80:20)) alone or with increasing doses of nicotine produce a dose-dependent
effect on uterine blood flow (UBF) and fetal growth response. Further, we will test if there are e-cig-induced
systemic cardiovascular adaptations during pregnancy. We will assess reproductive vascular and systemic
cardiovascular adaptations of e-cig base alone or with increasing doses of nicotine utilizing high frequency
ultrasonography, TTE, ECG, Luminex xMAP technology, surgical catheterization for blood pressure, and
microsphere-based flow assessment. Aim#2 will test if vaping e-cig will impair uterine artery relaxation via the
endothelium-derived NO vs. EDHF vs. PGI2 pathways (the three vasodilators that entirely regulate primary
uterine artery blood flow in pregnancy). We will pharmacologically block combinations of endothelial-derived
vasodilator pathways using pressure arteriography, and dissect impaired cell signaling utilizing HPLC,
histological approaches, immunoblotting, and other molecular tools. Aim#3 will test if re-capitulating e-cig-
induced decreased UBF in the absence of e-cig produces fetal growth restriction, and if restoring e-cig-
impaired-UBF rescues the growth restriction phenotypes of the e-cig-treated animals. We will phenocopy using
RNA interference-mediated suppression of mRNA transcripts of endothelium-dependent vasodilatory
mediators, and re-create e-cig induced decreases in UBF in the absence of e-cig vaping. Using lentiviral
expressing transgene(s) to restore UBF, we will determine if this can rescue the growth restriction phenotypes
of e-cig-treated animals.
 Our proposal explores a new frontier of gestational research developing the first mechanistic framework
for e-cig vaping-induced uterine circulatory adaptations in a model that offers a translational inhalation delivery
and vapor profiles comparable to human vapi...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10459954
- **Project number:** 7R01HL151497-02
- **Recipient organization:** WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Jayanth Ramadoss
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $223,039
- **Award type:** 7
- **Project period:** 2021-01-05 → 2024-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10459954

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10459954, ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE VAPING & VASCULAR SEQUELAE IN THE UTERUS DURING  PREGNANCY. (7R01HL151497-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10459954. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*