MicroRNAs as modulators of smoking-induced gene expression changes in human airway epithelium.

ABSTRACT: We have shown that smoking impacts bronchial airway gene expression and that heterogeneity in this response associates with smoking-related disease risk. In this study, we sought to determine whether microRNAs (miRNAs) play a role in regulating the airway gene expression response to smoking. We examined whole-genome miRNA and mRNA expression in bronchial airway epithelium from current and never smokers (n = 20) and found 28 miRNAs to be differentially expressed (P < 0.05) with the majority being down-regulated in smokers. We further identified a number of mRNAs whose expression level is highly inversely correlated with miRNA expression in vivo. Many of these mRNAs contain potential binding sites for the differentially expressed miRNAs in their 3'-untranslated region (UTR) and are themselve

SUBMITTER: Schembri F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2650144 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature