Comparison of various markers of study outcomes after exposure to CBD-containing vaping product (CBD-vape) and nicotine-containing vaping product (Nic-vape)
| Study outcomes | Markers | Results CBD-Vape vs Nic-Vape |
| 1. Lung damage | Total protein levels in BAL | Equivalent |
| FITC-dextran levels in blood | More in CBD-Vape (****) | |
| Albumin levels in BAL | More in CBD-Vape (****) | |
| NE levels in BAL | Equivalent | |
| NE levels in lungs | More in CBD-Vape (**) | |
| MPO activity in BAL | Equivalent | |
| MPO activity in lungs | More in CBD-Vape (**) | |
| 2. Inflammatory markers | IL-6 | More CBD-Vape (***) |
| IL1alpha | Equivalent | |
| G-CSF | More in CBD-Vape (**) | |
| IL-5 | More in CBD-Vape (**) | |
| KC | Equivalent | |
| IL-2 | Equivalent | |
| IL-10 | Equivalent | |
| IFN-γ | Equivalent | |
| 3. Immune cells | Total lung immune infiltrate | More in CBD-Vape (*) |
| # of Neutrophils | Equivalent | |
| # of CD8+ T cells | More in CBD-Vape (***) | |
| # of CD4+ T cells | More in CBD-Vape (****) | |
| # of CD19+ B cells/gm lung | Equivalent | |
| # of CD4+ IL-17A+T cells/gm lung | Equivalent | |
| # of CD4+ RORgt+ T cells/gm lung | More in CBD-Vape (****) | |
| # of CD4+ Foxp3+ T cells/gm lung | More in CBD-Vape (***) | |
| # of CD11c+ Siglec-F+ macrophages/gm of lung | Equivalent | |
| # of CD11c+ CD206+ interstitial macrophages/gm of lung | Less in CBD-Vape (*) | |
| # of CD11c+ Arginase-1+ macrophages/gm of lung | Less in CBD-Vape (*) | |
| 3. Histology | Granulocytes | Frequency and severity greater in CBD-Vape |
| Macrophages | Frequency and severity greater in CBD-Vape | |
| Lymphocytes | Frequency and severity greater in CBD-Vape | |
| Lipid-containing, intra-alveolar macrophages | Equivalent | |
| 4. Oxidative stress | Total antioxidant levels in lungs and BAL | Equivalent |
| 5. Small airway epithelial cell toxicity | Cell death | Higher but not significant |
| Epithelial barrier integrity disruption | Higher but not significant | |
| 6. Human neutrophil dysfunction | Higher but not significant | More in CBD-Vape (***) |
| Apoptotic cell death | More in CBD-Vape (***) | |
| NE release in condition media | More in CBD-Vape (*) |
Non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test with FDR correction for multiple comparisons was performed to see if statistically significant differences exist between CBD-Vape vs Nic-Vape for various parameters measured in the study using GraphPad Prism V.9 software (GraphPad; La Jolla, California, USA). The difference between two groups was considered significant at p<0.05 obtained when FDR was set at Q<0.1 and are indicated with the symbols.
*p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001, ****p<0.0001.
CBD, cannabidiol; FDR, false discovery rate; NE, neutrophil elastase.