Chaiwangyen Wittaya, Khantamat Orawan, Kangwan Napapan, Tipsuwan Wachiraporn, de Sousa Francisco Lázaro Pereira
Division of Biochemistry, School of Medical Sciences, University of Phayao, Phayao 56000 Thailand.
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2025 Jul 15;300:118420. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2025.118420. Epub 2025 May 30.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally and are increasingly recognized as sensitive biomarkers of environmental exposure. This review explores how various environmental hazards-including radiation, air pollutants, heavy metals, pesticides, phthalates, and pathogens-alter both cellular and circulating miRNA expression, influencing phenotypic plasticity and contributing to disease development. Environmental hazards can induce epigenetic modifications in miRNA profiles, disrupting key biological processes such as inflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and DNA repair. These alterations are associated with a wide range of diseases. The review outlines miRNA biogenesis, function, and extracellular transport, highlighting their stability and tissue specificity as biomarkers of exposure and disease. It also examines the complexity of exposure-specific miRNA signatures, shaped by factors such as genetic background, co-exposures, and exposure duration, and discusses current challenges in their validation and clinical application. Overall, this review underscores the pivotal role of miRNAs in cellular responses to environmental hazards and their potential as diagnostic and therapeutic tools, with broad implications for environmental health and disease prevention.
微小RNA（miRNA）是一类小的非编码RNA，可在转录后调节基因表达，并且越来越被认为是环境暴露的敏感生物标志物。本综述探讨了各种环境危害——包括辐射、空气污染物、重金属、农药、邻苯二甲酸盐和病原体——如何改变细胞和循环中的miRNA表达，影响表型可塑性并促进疾病发展。环境危害可诱导miRNA谱的表观遗传修饰，破坏炎症、氧化应激、细胞凋亡和DNA修复等关键生物学过程。这些改变与多种疾病相关。该综述概述了miRNA的生物发生、功能和细胞外转运，强调了它们作为暴露和疾病生物标志物的稳定性和组织特异性。它还研究了由遗传背景、共同暴露和暴露持续时间等因素塑造的特定暴露miRNA特征的复杂性，并讨论了它们在验证和临床应用中的当前挑战。总体而言，本综述强调了miRNA在细胞对环境危害反应中的关键作用及其作为诊断和治疗工具的潜力，对环境健康和疾病预防具有广泛影响。
