Exposure to Metal-Rich Particulate Matter Modifies the Expression of Candidate MicroRNAs in Peripheral Blood Leukocytes
Open accessAbstract
Background: Altered patterns of gene expression mediate the effects of particulate matter (PM) on human health, but mechanisms through which PM modifies gene expression are largely undetermined. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are highly conserved, noncoding small RNAs that regulate the expression of broad gene networks at the posttranscriptional level. Objectives: We evaluated the effects of exposure to PM and PM metal components on candidate miRNAs (miR-222, miR-21, and miR-146a) related with oxidative stress and inflammatory processes in 63 workers at an electric-furnace steel plant. Methods: We measured miR-222, miR-21, and miR-146a expression in blood leukocyte RNA on the first day of a workweek (baseline) and after 3 days of work (postexposure). Relative expression of miRNAs was measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction. We measured blood oxidative stress (8-hydroxyguanine) and estimated individual exposures to PM1 (< 1 μm in aerodynamic diameter), PM10 (< 10 μm in aerodynamic diameter), coarse PM (PM10 minus PM1), and PM metal components (chromium, lead, cadmium, arsenic, nickel, manganese) between the baseline and postexposure measurements. Results: Expression of miR-222 and miR-21 (using the 2−ΔΔCT method) was significantly increased in postexposure samples (miR-222: baseline = 0.68 ± 3.41, postexposure = 2.16 ± 2.25, p = 0.002; miR-21: baseline = 4.10 ± 3.04, postexposure = 4.66 ± 2.63, p = 0.05). In postexposure samples, miR-222 expression was positively correlated with lead exposure (β = 0.41, p = 0.02), whereas miR-21 expression was associated with blood 8-hydroxyguanine (β = 0.11, p = 0.03) but not with individual PM size fractions or metal components. Postexposure expression of miR-146a was not significantly different from baseline (baseline = 0.61 ± 2.42, postexposure = 1.90 ± 3.94, p = 0.19) but was negatively correlated with exposure to lead (β = −0.51, p = 0.011) and cadmium (β = −0.42, p = 0.04). Conclusions: Changes in miRNA expression may represent a novel mechanism mediating responses to PM and its metal components.
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Mir-21 was significantly increased in response to diesel exhaust particle and metal-rich PM exposure in adults.
“Mir-21, which is an important regulator in vascular cell proliferation and apoptosis, was also significantly increased in response to diesel exhaust particle and metal-rich PM exposure in adults [197, 198].”
From Air pollution and children’s health—a review of adverse effects associated with prenatal exposure from fine to ultrafine particulate matter (2021) · cites this paper as [197]
The Abstract Results and Discussion report a significant increase in miR-21 after three workdays in foundry workers. However, the Results found no significant association between miR-21 and measured PM or metal-component exposure. The Discussion mentions diesel exhaust particles only in describing a separate study of human airway cells, not this study's adult workers. (LLM, conf=0.90)
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- Authors
- Bollati, V., Marinelli, B., Apostoli, P., Bonzini, M., Nordio, F., Hoxha, M., Pegoraro, V., Motta, V., Tarantini, L., Cantone, L., Schwartz, J., Bertazzi, P. A., & Baccarelli, A.
- Affiliations
- University of Milan (IT)
- University of Brescia (IT)
- University of Insubria (IT)
- University of Parma (IT)
- Harvard University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Baccarelli, Andrea
- ORCID
- Venue
- Environmental Health Perspectives
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2010-01-08
- Volume
- 118
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 763-768
- ISSN
- 0091-6765 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-9924
- PMC
- PMC2898851
- OpenAlex
- W2074328998
- Cited by
- 347
- References
- 58
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 27 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 30 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 35 · 2015: 33 · 2014: 29 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 15
- FWCI
- 12.98
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- public-domain
- creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (vor, 2912 d)
- Locations
- Environmental Health Perspectives (publishedVersion, public-domain)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, public-domain)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- IrInSubria (University of Insubria) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Fondazione Cariplo
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (R01ES015172)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Air Quality and Health Impacts
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Heavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › MicroRNA in disease regulation
- Keywords
- particulate matter, microRNA expression, miR-222, miR-21, miR-146a, blood leukocytes, steelworkers, occupational exposure, lead exposure, oxidative stress, 8-oxoguanine, inflammation, chromium, cadmium, manganese, nickel, arsenic
- MeSH terms
- 8-Hydroxy-2'-Deoxyguanosine, Adult, Deoxyguanosine, Humans, Italy, Male, Metallurgy, Middle Aged, Sensitivity and Specificity, Signal Transduction, Occupational Exposure, DNA Methylation, Metals, Heavy, MicroRNAs, Particulate Matter
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