title: Particulate Air Pollution Exposure and Expression of Viral and Human MicroRNAs in Blood: The Beijing Truck Driver Air Pollution Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are post-transcriptional gene suppressors and potential mediators of environmental effects. In addition to human miRNAs, viral miRNAs expressed from latent viral sequences are detectable in human cells.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  In a highly exposed population in Beijing, China, we evaluated the associations of particulate air pollution exposure on blood miRNA profiles.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Beijing Truck Driver Air Pollution Study (BTDAS) included 60 truck drivers and 60 office workers. We investigated associations of short-term air pollution exposure, using measures of personal PM2.5 (particulate matter ≤ 2.5 μm) and elemental carbon (EC), and ambient PM10 (≤ 10 μm), with blood NanoString nCounter miRNA profiles at two exams separated by 1-2 weeks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No miRNA was significantly associated with personal PM2.5 at a false discovery rate (FDR) of 20%. Short-term ambient PM10 was associated with the expression of 12 miRNAs in office workers only (FDR < 20%). Short-term EC was associated with differential expression of 46 human and 7 viral miRNAs, the latter including 3 and 4 viral miRNAs in office workers and truck drivers, respectively. EC-associated miRNAs differed between office workers and truck drivers with significant effect modification by occupational group. Functional interaction network analysis suggested enriched cellular proliferation/differentiation pathways in truck drivers and proinflammation pathways in office workers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Short-term EC exposure was associated with the expression of human and viral miRNAs that may influence immune responses and other biological pathways. Associations between EC exposure and viral miRNA expression suggest that latent viral miRNAs are potential mediators of air pollution-associated health effects. PM2.5/PM10 exposures showed no consistent relationships with miRNA expression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Lifang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: Jitendra
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barupal
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yinan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Chang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dou
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: McCracken
authors.forename: Anaité
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Díaz
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Motta
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanchez-Guerra
authors.forename: Katherine Rose
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.forename: Pier Alberto
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Bertazzi
authors.forename: Joel D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Andrea A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Baccarelli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000068476:Beijing; D002244:Carbon / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000097:blood*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010316:Particle Size; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; D052638:Particulate Matter; D012367:RNA, Viral; D001335:Vehicle Emissions; D002244:Carbon