# e-Cigarettes: Formaldehyde DNA Adducts, Oxidative Damage, and Potential Toxicity and Carcinogenesis

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 2020 · $401,939

## Abstract

e-Cigarettes, also known as electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), are a rapidly growing nicotine delivery product with millions of users in the United States and worldwide. All e-cigarettes have common features: a battery; a tank containing propylene glycol or vegetable glycerin, flavoring agents, and nicotine; a microprocessor; an activating button; and, in some, a variable voltage heating element. The heating element vaporizes the solution producing liquid aerosol droplets containing nicotine. The amount of nicotine inhaled is controlled by the user by varying the voltage. There is little
doubt that e-cigarettes are safer than tobacco cigarettes because they lack tobacco and combustion. However, the safety of e-cigarettes per se requires evaluation, particularly in view of recent reports that they may generate unacceptable levels of the human carcinogen formaldehyde, and our preliminary data indicating that levels of urinary biomarkers of oxidative damage and inflammation – the F2-isoprostane 8-iso-PGF2α and the prostaglandin E2 metabolite PGEM - are the same in e- cigarette users as in cigarette smokers. Therefore, we will test the hypothesis that e-cigarette use leads to formaldehyde-DNA adducts and elevated exposure to other carbonyls, and to similar levels
of oxidative damage and inflammation as in smokers, and will assess toxicant and carcinogen exposure in e-cigarette users, smokers, and non-smokers. Our specific aims are: 1. Quantify exogenous [13CD2]formaldehyde-DNA adducts and unlabeled endogenous  formaldehyde-DNA adducts in tissues of rats exposed to vapor generated from e-liquids
 containing [1-13CD2]propylene glycol. 2. Using samples from a prior study in which smokers stopped smoking for 12 weeks, determine the  time course of decreases in formaldehyde-DNA adducts in leukocytes, and 8-iso-PGF-2α and
 PGEM in urine.3. Recruit 134 e-cigarette tank system users, 134 smokers, and 134 non-users of any e-cigarette or
 tobacco product and compare levels of formaldehyde, diacetyl, and other carbonyl compounds in  saliva (before and after puffing in the e-cigarette users and smokers), formaldehyde-DNA  adducts in oral cells and leukocytes, 8-iso-PGF-2α and PGEM in urine, the serum biomarker of  inflammation C-reactive protein, as well as a panel of urinary toxicant and carcinogen biomarkers,  sampled monthly for 6 months. Only e-cigarette users who have not smoked a tobacco
 cigarette for the amount of time determined to be necessary for clearance of biomarkers to non-smoker levels in Specific Aim 2 will be enrolled, and this group will include e-cigarette users who operate their devices at predominantly high and low voltages (above and below 4V) as well as some individuals who will vary the voltage of their e-cigarette system.Collectively, the results of this study will critically test our hypothesis and provide important data on
the potential risks of e-cigarette use with respect to the human carcinogen formaldehyde and other
carb...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9859347
- **Project number:** 5R01CA203851-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
- **Principal Investigator:** STEPHEN S HECHT
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $401,939
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-02-21 → 2022-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9859347

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9859347, e-Cigarettes: Formaldehyde DNA Adducts, Oxidative Damage, and Potential Toxicity and Carcinogenesis (5R01CA203851-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9859347. Licensed CC0.

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