Harrill Alison H, Sanders Alison P
Division of the National Toxicology Program, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 111 TW Alexander Drive #K2-17, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USA.
Departments of Environmental Medicine and Public Health and Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1057, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
Curr Environ Health Rep. 2020 Jun;7(2):101-108. doi: 10.1007/s40572-020-00271-8.
There is a critical need for sensitive biomarkers of renal disease and progression. Micro(mi)RNAs are attractive as next-generation biomarkers in kidney disease, particularly as urine miRNAs can inform kidney function and cellular integrity. This review summarizes recent epidemiologic and toxicologic advances using urinary miRNAs and exosomal miRNAs as novel biomarkers of chemical exposure and of kidney damage and disease.
Urine miRNA biomarkers offer improved stability over protein in stored samples, relative ease of collection and quantitation, and conserved sequence homology across species. Particularly in the case of emergent environmental health threats such as chronic kidney disease of unknown origin, urinary miRNAs hold promise as biomarkers of disease and/or exposure. We present evidence to address scientific knowledge gaps, comment on the relevance of urine-derived miRNAs in environmental health research, and discuss limitations and recommendations for future directions needed to advance miRNA biomarker strategies.
对于肾脏疾病及其进展的敏感生物标志物有着迫切需求。微小（mi）RNA作为肾脏疾病的下一代生物标志物颇具吸引力，尤其是尿液中的miRNA能够反映肾脏功能和细胞完整性。本综述总结了近期在流行病学和毒理学方面的进展，这些进展将尿液miRNA和外泌体miRNA用作化学物质暴露以及肾脏损伤和疾病的新型生物标志物。
与储存样本中的蛋白质相比，尿液miRNA生物标志物具有更高的稳定性，收集和定量相对容易，并且在物种间具有保守的序列同源性。特别是在诸如不明原因慢性肾脏病等新出现的环境卫生威胁的情况下，尿液miRNA有望成为疾病和/或暴露的生物标志物。我们提供证据以填补科学知识空白，评论尿液来源的miRNA在环境卫生研究中的相关性，并讨论推进miRNA生物标志物策略所需的未来方向的局限性和建议。
