Identification by MicroRNA Analysis of Environmental Risk Factors Bearing Pathogenic Relevance in Non-Smoker Lung Cancer

Abstract

MicroRNA and DNA adduct biomarkers may be used to identify the contribution of environmental pollution to some types of cancers. The aim of this study was to use integrated DNA adducts and microRNAs analyses to study retrospectively the contribution of exposures to environmental carcinogens to lung cancer in 64 non-smokers living in Sicily and Catania city near to the Etna volcano. MicroRNAs were extracted from cancer lung biopsies, and from the surrounding lung normal tissue. The expression of 2549 human microRNAs was analyzed by microarray. Benzo(a)Pyrene-DNA adducts levels were analyzed in the patients’ blood by HPLC−fluorescence detection. Correlations between tetrols and environmental exposures were calculated using Pearson coefficients and regression variable plots. Compared with the healthy tissue, 273 microRNAs were downregulated in lung cancer. Tetrols levels were inversely related both with the distance from Etna and years since smoking cessation, but they were not significantly correlated to environmental exposures. The analysis of the microRNA environmental signatures indicates the contribution of environmental factors to the analyzed lung cancers in the following decreasing rank: (a) car traffic, (b) passive smoke, (c) radon, and (d) volcano ashes. These results provide evidence that microRNA analysis can be used to retrospectively investigate the contribution of environmental factors in human lung cancer occurring in non-smokers.

Inhibitory role of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells‐derived exosome in non‐small‐cell lung cancer: microRNA‐30b‐5p, EZH2 and PI3K/AKT pathway

“…NSCLC‐related miRNA data GSE169587 18 and mRNA data GSE74706 19 were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. GSE169587 contained 7 NSCLC tissue samples and 12 adjacent normal tissue samples, and GSE74706 included 18 NSCLC tissue samples and 18 adjacent normal tissue samples.…”

Special Issue: “Role of MicroRNA in Cancer Development and Treatment”

“…In subjects at high risk of cancer, gut and lung microbiota are distinct from those of low-risk subjects, and disease progression is associated with microbiota alterations [ 4 ]. Next in this Special Issue are two contributions describing the relationship between miRNA profiles and oncogene mutations in non-smoker lung cancer and the identification, by microRNA analysis, of environmental risk factors using integrated DNA adducts and microRNAs analyses to retrospectively study the contribution of exposures to environmental carcinogens to lung cancer in 64 non-smokers living in Sicily and Catania city near to the Etna volcano [ 7 ]. MicroRNAs play a role in silencing mutated oncogenes, thus defending the cell against the adverse consequences of genotoxic damages induced by environmental pollutants.…”