Altered long non-coding RNAs expression in normal and diseased primary human airway epithelial cells exposed to diesel exhaust particles.

Background: Exposure to diesel exhaust particles (DEP) has been linked to a variety of adverse health effects, including increased morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), metabolic syndrome, and lung cancer. The epigenetic changes caused by air pollution have been associated with increased health risks. However, the exact molecular mechanisms underlying the lncRNA-mediated pathogenesis induced by DEP exposure have not been revealed.

Methods: Through RNA-sequencing and integrative analysis of both mRNA and lncRNA profiles, this study investigated the role of lncRNAs in altered gene expression in healthy and diseased human primary epithelial cells (NHBE and DHBE-COPD) exposed to DEP at a dose of 30 μg/cm².

Results: We identified 503 and 563 differentially expressed (DE) mRNAs and a total of 10 and 14 DE lncRNAs in NHBE and DHBE-COPD cells exposed to DEP, respectively. In both NHBE and DHBE-COPD cells, enriched cancer-related pathways were identified at mRNA level, and 3 common lncRNAs OLMALINC, AC069234.2, and LINC00665 were found to be associated with cancer initiation and progression. In addition, we identified two cis-acting (TMEM51-AS1 and TTN-AS1) and several trans-acting lncRNAs (e.g. LINC01278, SNHG29, AC006064.4, TMEM51-AS1) only differentially expressed in COPD cells, which could potentially play a role in carcinogenesis and determine their susceptibility to DEP exposure.

Conclusions: Overall, our work highlights the potential importance of lncRNAs in regulating DEP-induced gene expression changes associated with carcinogenesis, and individuals suffering from COPD are likely to be more vulnerable to these environmental triggers.