Project description:Objective: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) control key elements of mRNA stability and likely contribute to the dysregulated lung gene expression observed in systemic sclerosis associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD). We analyzed the miRNA gene expression of tissue and cells from SSc-ILD patients. A chronic lung fibrotic murine model was used. Methods: RNA was isolated from lung tissue of 12 SSc-ILD patients and 5 control lungs. High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) was performed at baseline and 2-3 years after treatment. Lung fibroblasts and PBMCs were isolated from healthy controls and SSc-ILD patients. miRNA and mRNA were analyzed by microarray, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and/or Nanostring; pathway analysis was performed by DIANA-miRPath v2.0 software. Wild-type and miR-155 deficient (miR-155ko) mice were exposed to bleomycin. Results: Lung miRNA microarray data distinguished patients with SSc-ILD from healthy controls with 185 miRNA differentially expressed (q<0.25). DIANA-miRPath revealed 57 KEGGs pathways related to the most dysregulated miRNAs. miR-155 and miR-143 were strongly correlated with progression of the HRCT score. Lung fibroblasts showed only mild expression of miR-155/miR-21 after several stimuli. miR-155 PBMC expression strongly correlated with lung function tests in SSc-ILD. miR-155ko mice developed milder lung fibrosis, survived longer, and showed a weaker lung induction of several genes after bleomycin exposure compared to wild-type mice. Conclusions: miRNAs are dysregulated in lungs and PBMCs of SSc-ILD patients. Based on mRNA-miRNA interaction analysis and pathway tools, miRNAs may play a role in the progression of the disease. Our findings suggest that targeting miR-155 might provide a novel therapeutic strategy for SSc-ILD.
Project description:Sex differences in the incidence and prognosis of respiratory diseases have been reported. Studies have shown that women are at increased risk of adverse health outcomes from air pollution than men, but sex-specific immune gene expression patterns and regulatory networks have not been well studied in the lung. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are environmentally sensitive posttranscriptional regulators of gene expression that may mediate the damaging effects of inhaled pollutants in the lung, by altering the expression of innate immunity molecules. Here, male and female mice of the C57/Bl6 background were exposed to 2ppm of ozone or filtered air (control) for 3 hours. Female mice were also exposed at different stages of the estrous cycle. Following exposure, lungs were harvested and total RNA was extracted. We used PCR arrays to study sex-differences in the expression of 84 miRNAs predicted to target inflammatory and immune genes. Our results identified differentially expressed miRNA signatures in the lungs of male vs. female exposed to ozone. In silico pathway analyses identified sex-specific biological networks affected by exposure to ozone that ranged from direct predicted gene targeting to complex interactions with multiple intermediates. We also identified differences in miRNA expression and predicted regulatory networks in females exposed to ozone at different estrous cycle stages. These results indicate that both sex and hormonal status can influence lung miRNA expression in response to ozone exposure, indicating that sex-specific miRNA regulation of inflammatory gene expression could mediate differential pollution-induced health outcomes in men and women.
Project description:Exosomal miRNAs have been studied in relation to many diseases. However, there is little to no knowledge regarding the miRNA population of BALF or the lung tissue derived exosomes in COPD and IPF. Considering this, we determined and compared the miRNA profiles of BALF and lung tissue-derived exosomes from healthy non-smokers, healthy smokers, and patients with COPD and IPF. NGS results identified three differentially expressed miRNAs in the BALF, while one in the lung-derived exosomes from COPD patients as compared to healthy non-smokers. Of these, we found three- and five-fold downregulation of miR-122-5p amongst the lung tissue-derived exosomes from COPD patients as compared to healthy non-smokers and smokers, respectively. Interestingly, there were key 55 differentially expressed miRNAs in the lung tissue-derived exosomes of IPF patients compared to non-smoking controls.
Project description:Objective: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) control key elements of mRNA stability and likely contribute to the dysregulated lung gene expression observed in systemic sclerosis associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD). We analyzed the miRNA gene expression of tissue and cells from SSc-ILD patients. A chronic lung fibrotic murine model was used. Methods: RNA was isolated from lung tissue of 12 SSc-ILD patients and 5 control lungs. High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) was performed at baseline and 2-3 years after treatment. Lung fibroblasts and PBMCs were isolated from healthy controls and SSc-ILD patients. miRNA and mRNA were analyzed by microarray, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and/or Nanostring; pathway analysis was performed by DIANA-miRPath v2.0 software. Wild-type and miR-155 deficient (miR-155ko) mice were exposed to bleomycin. Results: Lung miRNA microarray data distinguished patients with SSc-ILD from healthy controls with 185 miRNA differentially expressed (q<0.25). DIANA-miRPath revealed 57 KEGGs pathways related to the most dysregulated miRNAs. miR-155 and miR-143 were strongly correlated with progression of the HRCT score. Lung fibroblasts showed only mild expression of miR-155/miR-21 after several stimuli. miR-155 PBMC expression strongly correlated with lung function tests in SSc-ILD. miR-155ko mice developed milder lung fibrosis, survived longer, and showed a weaker lung induction of several genes after bleomycin exposure compared to wild-type mice. Conclusions: miRNAs are dysregulated in lungs and PBMCs of SSc-ILD patients. Based on mRNA-miRNA interaction analysis and pathway tools, miRNAs may play a role in the progression of the disease. Our findings suggest that targeting miR-155 might provide a novel therapeutic strategy for SSc-ILD. Lung biopsies taken from open lung biopsy from SSc-ILD patients (n=15 samples) and from cancer free control patients (n=5) during ressection of the lung tumor.
Project description:Transcriptome analysis revealed miRNA profiles from PCLS of tumor-free tissue comparable to normal lung tissue Suitability of human PCLS as a model for lung-specific miRNA investigations by RTqPCR and microarray analyses
Project description:There is increasing evidence for a crucial contribution of the tumor microenvironment to cancer development and progression since several stromal components, including fibroblasts, interact with cancer cells regulating their behavior and ultimately affecting tumor phenotype. To investigate the cross-talk between cancer cells and lung-derived fibroblasts we have prospectively collected surgical specimens of lung cancer and normal lung tissue and established primary fibroblast cultures from different areas of the lungs. We have generated cultures from cancer specimens (Cancer Associated Fibroblasts, CAF) and cultures from normal lung tissue either proximal (Adjacent Fibroblasts, AF) or distant from the neoplastic lesion (Normal fibroblasts, NF). Gene and miRNA expression profiles were obtained from 60 cultures to identify fibroblast properties related to cancer progression.