Mirra Davida, Esposito Renata, Spaziano Giuseppe, Sportiello Liberata, Panico Francesca, Squillante Antonio, Falciani Maddalena, Cerqua Ida, Gallelli Luca, Cione Erika, D'Agostino Bruno
Department of Environmental Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", 81100 Caserta, Italy.
Campania Regional Centre for Pharmacovigilance and Pharmacoepidemiology, 80138 Naples, Italy.
Biomedicines. 2024 May 9;12(5):1050. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines12051050.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive lung disease that is commonly considered to be a potent driver of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) development and related mortality. A growing body of evidence supports a role of the immune system, mainly played by alveolar macrophages (AMs), in key axes regulating the development of COPD or NSCLC phenotypes in response to harmful agents. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that influence most biological processes and interfere with several regulatory pathways. The purpose of this study was to assess miRNA expression patterns in patients with COPD, NSCLC, and ever- or never-smoker controls to explore their involvement in smoking-related diseases. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens were collected from a prospective cohort of 43 sex-matched subjects to determine the expressions of hsa-miR-223-5p, 16-5p, 20a-5p, -17-5p, 34a-5p and 106a-5p by RT-PCR. In addition, a bioinformatic analysis of miRNA target genes linked to cancer was performed. Distinct and common miRNA expression levels were identified in each pathological group, suggesting their possible role as an index of NSCLC or COPD microenvironment. Moreover, we identified miRNA targets linked to carcinogenesis using in silico analysis. In conclusion, this study identified miRNA signatures in AMs, allowing us to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying smoking-related conditions and potentially providing new insights for diagnosis or pharmacological treatment.
慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）是一种进行性肺部疾病，通常被认为是非小细胞肺癌（NSCLC）发生及相关死亡率的重要驱动因素。越来越多的证据支持免疫系统（主要由肺泡巨噬细胞（AMs）发挥作用）在调控COPD或NSCLC表型对有害因素反应的关键轴中所起的作用。微小RNA（miRNAs）是一类小的非编码RNA，可影响大多数生物学过程并干扰多种调控途径。本研究的目的是评估COPD患者、NSCLC患者以及曾经吸烟或从不吸烟的对照者的miRNA表达模式，以探讨它们与吸烟相关疾病的关系。从前瞻性队列中收集了43名性别匹配受试者的支气管肺泡灌洗（BAL）标本，通过逆转录-聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）测定hsa-miR-223-5p、16-5p、20a-5p、-17-5p、34a-5p和106a-5p的表达。此外，还对与癌症相关的miRNA靶基因进行了生物信息学分析。在每个病理组中鉴定出了不同的和共同的miRNA表达水平，表明它们可能作为NSCLC或COPD微环境的指标。此外，我们通过计算机分析鉴定了与致癌作用相关的miRNA靶标。总之，本研究在AMs中鉴定出了miRNA特征，使我们能够了解吸烟相关疾病的分子机制，并可能为诊断或药物治疗提供新的见解。
