Global gene expression profiling of human bronchial epithelial cells exposed to airborne fine particulate matter collected from Wuhan, China.
BACKGROUND
Many studies have linked ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution to different cardiopulmonary diseases in the general population. However the complex mechanisms underlying PM2.5-induced adverse health effects are not yet to be fully elucidated.


METHODS
In this study, we aimed to identify genes and pathways that may contribute to PM2.5-induced lung toxicity in humans through genome-wide approaches. Human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells, exposed to various concentrations of PM2.5 collected from Wuhan, China, showed decreased cell viability in a dose-dependent manner. HBE cells were exposed to 200 μg/ml and 500 μg/ml PM2.5 and microarrays were used to obtain a global view of the transcriptomic responses.


RESULTS
A total of 970 and 492 genes were identified that significantly changed after 200 μg/ml and 500 μg/ml PM2.5 exposures, respectively. PM2.5 induced a large number of genes involved in inflammatory and immune response, response to oxidative stress, and response to DNA damage stimulus, which might contribute to PM2.5 related cardiopulmonary diseases. Pathway analysis revealed that different dose of PM2.5 triggered partially common disturbed pathways. Flow cytometry assay evidenced that there were statistically significant differences in the G1 phase of cell cycle after low or high-dose PM2.5 exposure when compared to the unexposed controls. Only high-dose PM2.5 significantly increased the proportion of cells in the S phase of cell cycle.


CONCLUSIONS
We identified many genes and pathways that altered significantly in HBE cells after PM2.5 exposures. These findings are important in providing further understanding of the mechanisms underlying PM2.5-induced adverse health effects.
Department of Environmental Genomics, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Cancer Center, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China; Department of Genetic Toxicology, The Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Xiaojie
X
Ding
Department of Environmental Genomics, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Cancer Center, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China; Department of Genetic Toxicology, The Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Meilin
M
Wang
Department of Environmental Genomics, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Cancer Center, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China; Department of Genetic Toxicology, The Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Haiyan
H
Chu
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Minjie
M
Chu
Department of Environmental Genomics, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Cancer Center, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Tong
T
Na
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Yang
Y
Wen
Department of Environmental Genomics, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Cancer Center, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China; Department of Genetic Toxicology, The Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Dongmei
D
Wu
State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, China.
Bin
B
Han
State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, China.
Zhipeng
Z
Bai
China Key Laboratory for Environment and Health of Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Weihong
W
Chen
China Key Laboratory for Environment and Health of Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Jing
J
Yuan
China Key Laboratory for Environment and Health of Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Tangchun
T
Wu
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Zhibin
Z
Hu
Department of Environmental Genomics, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Cancer Center, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China; Department of Genetic Toxicology, The Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China. Electronic address: drzdzhang@gmail.com.
Zhengdong
Z
Zhang
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China. Electronic address: hbshen@njmu.edu.cn.
Hongbing
H
Shen
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D001980:Bronchi / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002681:China; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D046228:Microarray Analysis; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000633:toxicity*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
D000393:Air Pollutants; D052638:Particulate Matter
Cell cycle; Cell viability; Gene expression; Oxidative stress; PM(2.5)