Disruption of MicroRNA Expression in Human Airway Cells by Diesel Exhaust Particles Is Linked to Tumorigenesis-Associated Pathways

Background

Particulate matter (PM) is associated with adverse airway health effects; however, the underlying mechanism in disease initiation is still largely unknown. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs; small noncoding RNAs) have been suggested to be important in maintaining the lung in a disease-free state through regulation of gene expression. Although many studies have shown aberrant miRNA expression patterns in diseased versus healthy tissue, little is known regarding whether environmental agents can induce such changes.

Objectives

We used diesel exhaust particles (DEP), the largest source of emitted airborne PM, to investigate pollutant-induced changes in miRNA expression in airway epithelial cells. We hypothesized that DEP exposure can lead to disruption of normal miRNA expression patterns, representing a plausible novel mechanism through which DEP can mediate disease initiation.

Methods

Human bronchial epithelial cells were grown at air–liquid interface until they reached mucociliary differentiation. After treating the cells with 10 μg/cm² DEP for 24 hr, we analyzed total RNA for miRNA expression using microarray profile analysis and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.

Results

DEP exposure changed the miRNA expression profile in human airway epithelial cells. Specifically, 197 of 313 detectable miRNAs (62.9%) were either up-regulated or down-regulated by 1.5-fold. Molecular network analysis of putative targets of the 12 most altered miRNAs indicated that DEP exposure is associated with inflammatory responses pathways and a strong tumorigenic disease signature.

Conclusions

Alteration of miRNA expression profiles by environmental pollutants such as DEP can modify cellular processes by regulation of gene expression, which may lead to disease pathogenesis.