Micro-RNAs: Crossroads between the Exposure to Environmental Particulate Pollution and the Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Abstract

Environmental pollution has reached a global echo and represents a serious problem for human health. Air pollution encompasses a set of hazardous substances, such as particulate matter and heavy metals (e.g., cadmium, lead, and arsenic), and has a strong impact on the environment by affecting groundwater, soil, and air. An adaptive response to environmental cues is essential for human survival, which is associated with the induction of adaptive phenotypes. The epigenetic mechanisms regulating the expression patterns of several genes are promising candidates to provide mechanistic and prognostic insights into this. Micro-RNAs (miRNAs) fulfil these features given their ability to respond to environmental factors and their critical role in determining phenotypes. These molecules are present in extracellular fluids, and their expression patterns are organ-, tissue-, or cell-specific. Moreover, the experimental settings for their quantitative and qualitative analysis are robust, standardized, and inexpensive. In this review, we provide an update on the role of miRNAs as suitable tools for understanding the mechanisms behind the physiopathological response to toxicants and the prognostic value of their expression pattern associable with specific exposures. We look at the mechanistic evidence associable to the role of miRNAs in the processes leading to environmental-induced pulmonary disease (i.e., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).

Mechanisms, Pathophysiology and Currently Proposed Treatments of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

“…Izzotti et al reported the first evidence of miRNA expression alterations caused by CS, namely downregulation of 24 miRNA involved in apoptosis, proliferation, and angiogenesis in lung [176]. The analysis of the miRNA pattern is important because miRNA senses the environmental stresses, causes phenotype changes in a cell-and tissue-specific way, being potentially used in prognostics, and contributes to the COPD pathogenesis [177,178].…”

PM10 Alters Trophoblast Cell Function and Modulates miR-125b-5p Expression

“…Notably, exposure to the environment may alter epigenetics, including miRNA, resulting in the development of human pathological conditions in the future [71]. Several studies have shown that changes in specific miRNA expression profiles respond to numerous environmental pollutants, including organic pollutants, metals, radiation, cigarette smoke, pesticides, carcinogens, and air pollution [72]. Therefore, altered miRNA expression is likely to be a biomarker as a result of their sensitivity to environmental pollution exposure.…”

Glutathione Peroxidase in Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

“…Moreover, it has been reported that traffic-related air pollution increases airway inflammation which induces the expression of inflammatory factors through the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway [ 9 ]. Environmental exposure can also induce oxidative stress through a disruption in the expression of micro-RNA, short sequences of non-coding RNA molecules which are involved in the regulation of gene expression [ 10 ]. Increased oxidative stress in COPD patients, which has been convincingly demonstrated with various biomarkers, reflects both an increase in oxidant molecules and a decrease in antioxidant defense mechanisms [ 11 , 12 ].…”