Analysis of microRNA Expression and Micronuclei Frequency in Workers Exposed to Vinyl Chloride Monomer in China

Abstract

Aim: To identify differently expressed miRNAs associated with vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and micronuclei (MN) frequency. Method: In discovery stage, we used microarray to detect miRNAs expression in peripheral blood lymphocytes between six low and six high VCM-exposed workers grouped by medium cumulative exposure dose. Then we validated four miRNAs using real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) and detected the micronuclei frequencies using cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay in 94 VCM-exposed workers and 53 healthy control subjects. Results & conclusion: We found eight miRNAs significantly downregulated and seven miRNAs upregulated (|Fold Change| >2; p < 0.05) in the high-exposure group through microarray. We validate that miR-222–3p, miR-146a-5p and miR-151a-5p were downregulated, while miR-22–3p was upregulated in VCM-exposed group (all p < 0.01). Furthermore, we found that expression of miR-22-3p was upregulated in the high micronuclei (MN) frequency subjects. In conclusion, our study suggested that these four miRNAs could be biomarkers of VCM exposure, and moreover miR-22–3p was correlated with MN frequency.

Keywords::

• chromosomal damage
• miRNAs
• vinyl chloride

Supplementary data

To view the supplementary data that accompany this paper please visit the journal website at: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2217/epi-2017-0028

Acknowledgements

We thank physicians Shuli Feng and Jun Li (Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical Co. Ltd, Shanghai, China) for their assistance in conducting the physical examination of the workers and data collection of VC exposure.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC30671740 and 81072280). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Ethical conduct of research

The authors state that they have obtained appropriate institutional review board approval or have followed the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki for all human or animal experimental investigations. In addition, for investigations involving human subjects, informed consent has been obtained from the participants involved.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC30671740 and 81072280). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.