# Investigate the mechanism and impact of E-cigarettes on platelet function and thrombogenesis

> **NIH NIH R56** · TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCE CTR · 2022 · $534,874

## Abstract

While smoking has been on the decline, e-cigarette usage has been on the rise, even during the COVID19
pandemic. Furthermore, even though the contribution of traditional smoking to the pathogenesis of thrombotic
diseases is well documented, the involvement of e-cigarettes in such disease processes remains unknown.
Consequently, the present application outlines studies that address fundamental, mechanistic, and clinically-
relevant translational aspects of the adverse-health effects of e-cigarettes, an increasingly popular form of
tobacco, in the context of platelet biology, thrombotic disease and sex, and in a device-, and e-liquid-specific
manner. Studies are also proposed to investigate, in a similar fashion, the toxicants that underlie e-cigarette
effects. These studies are of paramount significance given the “perceived safety” of e-cigarettes. The Aims of
this proposal are:
Aim 1. Investigate the impact of e-cigarette exposure on platelet-dependent disease states. While there
is compelling evidence that e-cigarettes do exert negative health effects, their impact on platelet-dependent
diseases is still unknown. To address these issues, the consequences of e-cigarette exposure on normal
hemostasis be will determined, in a dose-, and time-dependent fashion. Subsequent studies will examine
whether e-cigarettes participate in the development of thrombosis disease. Finally, experiments are designed in
a manner that addresses the role of the device, and e-liquid in e-cigarette effects, with sex as a biological
variable.
Aim 2. Investigate the mechanism by which e-cigarettes modulate platelet function. Even though the
preliminary data indicated that e-cigarettes modulate hemostasis, the mechanism, by which they modulate
platelet function remains to be investigated. Thus, the overall goal of the experiments proposed in this section is
to determine the impact of e-cigarette exposure on the various platelet functional responses, biochemical/plasma
“markers” of thrombosis, the mechanistic resistance to PGI2, and whether the effects are receptor mediated.
Finally, studies are proposed to determine if e-cigarettes modulate the platelet miRnome.
Aim 3. Define e-cigarettes toxicants with potent impact on platelet-dependent disease and function. While
e-cigarettes are known to be source of a large number of toxicants, such as cotinine and acrolein, nothing is
known regarding their specific impact on platelet activation/disease. Therefore, the effect of the e-cigarette
toxicants, alone or in combination, on platelet function and associated disease will be investigated.
Collectively, these experiments will make significant contributions to the understanding of the
consequences of e-cigarettes on platelet activation and cardiovascular human health, and the
mechanism and toxicants by/through which they exert these effects, in a dose-, time-, device-, e-liquid-
specific manner, in the context of sex.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10683785
- **Project number:** 1R56HL158730-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCE CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** Fatima Z. Alshbool
- **Activity code:** R56 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $534,874
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-20 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10683785

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10683785, Investigate the mechanism and impact of E-cigarettes on platelet function and thrombogenesis (1R56HL158730-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10683785. Licensed CC0.

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