Research On Serum MicroRNA Levels In Dust-exposed Population

ObjectiveThe diagnosis of pneumoconiosis usually based on the exact history of dust exposure,the corresponding clinical manifestations,and the exclusion of other similar diseases that affect diagnosis(such as miliary tuberculosis,idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and cancer)through imaging and molecular biology tests can make the correct diagnosis of pneumoconiosis.Pulmonary fibrosis once occurs,could progress even though it ceases to come into contact with dust.Therefore,the key of prevention and therapy is earlier detection and diagnosis.So,exploring a new biomarker for screening pneumoconiosis has become a hot topic in occupational medicine today.The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between populations exposed to dust and serum microRNA(miRNAs)to evaluate whether they can be used as early biomarkers for screening pneumoconiosis.MethodsA case-control study was performed in this study,we divided the populations into three groups according to the dust exposure respectively: control group,dust-esposure group and pneumoconiosis group.After experiment,three groups of human venous blood were collected and the serum separated.The relative expression levels of serum miRNAs in different populations were detected by RT-qPCR.Appropriate statistical methods were used to statistically determine whether the differences in the relative expression levels of serum miRNAs among different populations were significant(P<0.05).ResultsThe relative expression levels of seven miRNAs are different in the contr ol group,dust-esposure group and pneumoconiosis group respectively: miR-16,mi R-29 a,miR-155,miR-21,miR-200 c,miR-204 and miR-206.miR-16,miR-29 a,miR-21,miR-200 c,miR-206 were gradually increased in the order of increasing relative expression of miRNAs in the control group,dust-esposure group and pneumoconiosis group,sequentially decreasing miR-204.The relative expression levels of miR-155 from high to low order respectively are control group,pneumoconiosi s group and dust-esposure group.The above differences were statistically signifi cant.ConclusionsSerum miRNAs can be used as potential biomarker for early screening of pneumoconiosis;Differences in the relative expression levels of multiple serum miRNAs in three groups suggested that miRNAs may play a role in the pathogenesis of pneumoconiosis.