Event Date
🌟 Presented by the Center for the Advancement of Multicultural Perspectives on Science (CAMPOS)
Madeline Nieves-Cintron
Associate Professor, Pharmacology
Lost in the Vape: How E-Cigarettes Disrupt Cellular Signaling and Vascular Health
Electronic cigarette (e-cig) use is rising rapidly, and growing evidence links vaping to increased cardiovascular risk. E-cig exposure is associated with vascular stiffness, hypertension, and heightened sympathetic tone, yet its effects on intracellular signaling remain poorly understood. Using targeted cAMP biosensors and live-cell FRET imaging, we identified a sex-specific distribution of subcellular cAMP signaling domains in vascular smooth muscle, with distinct cAMP pools confined to the sarcoplasmic reticulum in male, but not female, mice. Chronic e-cig exposure disrupted these compartmentalized pools and impaired β-adrenergic-mediated vasodilation. These findings reveal a sex-dependent mechanism linking vaping to compromised vascular function and elevated cardiovascular risk.