microRNA expression profiles and personal monitoring of exposure to particulate matter
File(s)Mancini et al_miRNA PEM _Env_Poll_rev_4_CLEAN.docx (64.26 KB)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
An increasing number of findings from epidemiological studies support associations between exposure to air pollution and the onset of several diseases, including pulmonary, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, and malignancies. However, intermediate, and potentially mediating, biological mechanisms associated with exposure to air pollutants are largely unknown. Previous studies on the human exposome have shown that the expression of certain circulating microRNAs (miRNAs), regulators of gene expression, are altered upon exposure to traffic-related air pollutants. In the present study, we investigated the relationship between particulate matter (PM) smaller than 2.5 μm (PM2.5), PM2.5 absorbance (as a proxy of black carbon and soot), and ultrafine-particles (UFP, smaller than 0.1 μm), measured in healthy volunteers by 24 h personal monitoring (PEM) sessions and global expression levels of peripheral blood miRNAs. The PEM sessions were conducted in four European countries, namely Switzerland (Basel), United Kingdom (Norwich), Italy (Turin), and The Netherlands (Utrecht). miRNAs expression levels were analysed using microarray technology on blood samples from 143 participants. Seven miRNAs, hsa-miR-24-3p, hsa-miR-4454, hsa-miR-4763-3p, hsa-miR-425-5p, hsa-let-7d-5p, hsa-miR-502-5p, and hsa-miR-505-3p were significantly (FDR corrected) expressed in association with PM2.5 personal exposure, while no significant association was found between miRNA expression and the other pollutants. The results obtained from this investigation suggest that personal exposure to PM2.5 is associated with miRNA expression levels, showing the potential for these circulating miRNAs as novel biomarkers for air pollution health risk assessment.
Date Issued
2020-08-01
Date Acceptance
2020-03-14
Citation
Environmental Pollution, 2020, 263 (Pt B)
ISSN
0269-7491
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal / Book Title
Environmental Pollution
Volume
263
Issue
Pt B
Copyright Statement
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This manuscript is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Sponsor
Commission of the European Communities
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32276129
PII: S0269-7491(19)36037-3
Grant Number
308610
Subjects
Air pollution
Fine and ultrafine particles
Personal monitoring
microRNAs
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Article Number
ARTN 114392
Date Publish Online
2020-03-18