尽管青少年电子烟持续流行，但使用电子烟对健康的长期影响在很大程度上尚不清楚。我们报告了电子烟与吸烟对健康年轻电子烟者和吸烟者相对于非使用者口腔细胞甲基化组的影响。尽管电子烟使用者和吸烟者的差异甲基化区域 (DMR) 数量不同（831 个 vs 2,863 个），但他们在 DNA 甲基化的分布和模式、染色质状态、转录因子结合基序和通路方面具有惊人的相似性。电子烟使用者和吸烟者之间的 DMR 相关基因存在大量重叠，共享的基因子集富含转录调控、信号传导、烟草使用障碍和癌症相关途径。重要的是在“癌症高甲基化1”（HIC1）启动子处鉴定出常见的高甲基化DMR，这是一种在吸烟相关癌症中经常被沉默的肿瘤抑制基因。我们的数据支持青少年电子烟使用者的表观基因组失调与疾病风险之间的潜在联系。这些新发现对公共卫生和烟草产品监管具有重大影响。

Despite the ongoing epidemic of youth vaping, the long-term health consequences of electronic cigarette use are largely unknown. We report the effects of vaping versus smoking on the oral cell methylome of healthy young vapers and smokers relative to non-users. Whereas vapers and smokers differ in number of differentially methylated regions (DMRs) (831 vs 2,863), they share striking similarities in the distribution and patterns of DNA methylation, chromatin states, transcription factor binding motifs, and pathways. There is substantial overlap in DMR-associated genes between vapers and smokers, with the shared subset of genes enriched for transcriptional regulation, signaling, tobacco use disorders, and cancer-related pathways. Of significance is the identification of a common hypermethylated DMR at the promoter of "Hypermethylated In Cancer 1" (HIC1), a tumor suppressor gene frequently silenced in smoking-related cancers. Our data support a potential link between epigenomic dysregulation in youth vapers and disease risk. These novel findings have significant implications for public health and tobacco product regulation.