Urinary microRNAs as potential biomarkers of pesticide exposure

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are post-transcriptional regulators that silence messenger RNAs. Because miRNAs are stable at room temperature and long-lived, they have been proposed as molecular biomarkers to monitor disease and exposure status. While urinary miRNAs have been used clinically as potential diagno...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Toxicology and applied pharmacology 2016-12, Vol.312, p.19-25
Main Authors: Weldon, Brittany A., Shubin, Sara Pacheco, Smith, Marissa N., Workman, Tomomi, Artemenko, Alexander, Griffith, William C., Thompson, Beti, Faustman, Elaine M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES
BIOLOGICAL MARKERS
Biomarkers - urine
BLADDER
CHILDREN
Cluster Analysis
DOSE-RESPONSE RELATIONSHIPS
DOSES
Environmental Exposure
Exposure biomarkers
FARMS
HOUSEHOLDS
Humans
KIDNEYS
Limit of Detection
MESSENGER-RNA
METABOLITES
MicroRNA
MicroRNAs - urine
NEOPLASMS
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE
Organophosphate
PESTICIDES
Pesticides - toxicity
POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION
URINE
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Summary:MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are post-transcriptional regulators that silence messenger RNAs. Because miRNAs are stable at room temperature and long-lived, they have been proposed as molecular biomarkers to monitor disease and exposure status. While urinary miRNAs have been used clinically as potential diagnostic markers for kidney and bladder cancers and other diseases, their utility in non-clinical settings has yet to be fully developed. Our goal was to investigate the potential for urinary miRNAs to act as biomarkers of pesticide exposure and early biological response by identifying the miRNAs present in urine from 27 parent/child, farmworker/non-farmworker pairs (16FW/11NFW) collected during two agricultural seasons (thinning and post-harvest) and characterizing the between- and within-individual variability of these miRNA epigenetic regulators. MiRNAs were isolated from archived urine samples and identified using PCR arrays. Comparisons were made between age, households, season, and occupation. Of 384 miRNAs investigated, 297 (77%) were detectable in at least one sample. Seven miRNAs were detected in at least 50% of the samples, and one miRNA was present in 96% of the samples. Principal components and hierarchical clustering analyses indicate significant differences in miRNA profiles between farmworker and non-farmworker adults as well as between seasons. Six miRNAs were observed to be positively associated with farmworkers status during the post-harvest season. Expression of five of these miRNA trended towards a positive dose response relationship with organophosphate pesticide metabolites in farmworkers. These results suggest that miRNAs may be novel biomarkers of pesticide exposure and early biological response. •A novel method to identify microRNA biomarkers in urinary samples is proposed.•Six miRNAs have been identified as associated with occupational farm work and pesticide exposure.•An observed seasonal difference suggests transient characteristics of urinary miRNAs.
ISSN:0041-008X
1096-0333
DOI:10.1016/j.taap.2016.01.018