Shahdab Jahan

• BSc (Hons) Physiological Sciences
• The effects of flavoured electronic cigarette liquid on calcium signalling and ion transport function of airway epithelial cells.

E-cigarettes [JL(1] are becoming increasingly popular, especially among the youth, as a supposedly healthier alternative to traditional tobacco-based cigarettes. E-cigarettes deliver vapour generated by heating up e-liquid, which typically contains nicotine[JL(2] . It has been recently discovered that select flavours of e-liquid are toxic to cultured cells. As there has been little research done on the effects of e-liquid, we investigated the effects of e-liquid on the function of epithelial cells present in the lining of human airways, mainly focusing on calcium signalling. Calcium signalling is an important process that takes place in all cells to regulate many aspects of their function, and if not properly regulated could threaten human health. We looked at how the levels of calcium in the airway epithelial cells increased or decreased when exposed to e-liquid, and further investigated the source of this calcium