Even brief e-cigarette use can cause lasting lung damage and weaken defenses against respiratory viruses, study suggests
· Medical Xpressedited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Robert Egan
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Just days of e-cigarette vapor exposure can injure the lungs' most delicate tissue and leave it more vulnerable to viral infection, according to a study led by National Jewish Health researchers and published in JCI Insight.
The research team studied human lung epithelial and endothelial cells, along with precision-cut human lung tissue, all taken from the distal lung—the deep, delicate region where oxygen passes into the bloodstream. In preclinical models, they exposed these tissues to e-cigarette vapor alone and separately tested vapor exposure followed by infection with a respiratory virus.
Rapid damage and lingering immune changes
Within 24 hours, e-cigarette vapor damaged the protective barrier of the distal lung, triggered cellular stress, impaired cells' internal process for clearing damaged components, slowed cell growth and repair and increased cell death.
Strikingly, signs of lung stress persisted 10 days after just a five-day exposure period ended. The team observed lasting changes in barrier function, tissue remodeling and Th1 immunity—a branch of the immune system critical to fighting viral infections.
Prior vaping exposure also increased SARS-CoV-2 viral burden and suppressed several antiviral genes following infection.
Long-term risks need further study
"Our findings suggest that even short-term vaping exposure can initiate injury in the deepest and most delicate regions of the lung," said senior author Irina Petrache, M.D., a pulmonologist and chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at National Jewish Health. "Importantly, some effects persisted after exposure ended and altered the immune response to a subsequent viral infection."
The findings, which will need to be confirmed in future studies in people, point to biological mechanisms that may help explain why vaping has been linked to lung injury and greater susceptibility to respiratory infections. The researchers noted that repeated exposure could potentially contribute to chronic lung disease by sustaining cellular injury and disrupting normal repair.
Publication details
Tanner C. Rivera et al, E-cigarette exposure triggers distal lung cell injury, persistent lung stress response, and antiviral immune suppression, JCI Insight (2026). DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.198757
Journal information: JCI Insight
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Pulmonary medicineInfectious diseasesCommon illnesses & PreventionHealthy living Provided by National Jewish Health Who's behind this story?
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Citation: Even brief e-cigarette use can cause lasting lung damage and weaken defenses against respiratory viruses, study suggests (2026, October 6) retrieved 6 October 2026 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-cigarette-lung-weaken-defenses-respiratory.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.