Objectives

Experimental evidence has shown that environmental exposure to the fibrous amphibole fluoro-edenite (FE) leads to the development of chronic respiratory diseases and causes carcinogenic effects (1). This silicate has a number of characteristics similar to the asbestos group (2), and scientific evidence has led to the classification of FE fibers as carcinogenic to humans, i.e., Group 1 (3). Furthermore, exposure to FE fibers is causally related to the onset of malignant mesothelioma, but this is not established for lung cancer. Most aspects, in fact, remain unknown (4).

Lung cancer is currently the second cause of cancer worldwide, with over 1.7 million deaths per year (5). Many studies have now demonstrated the role of epigenetics in the development and progression of various pathologies, including cancer (6).

Materials and Methods

On this basis, the aim of this study was to evaluate the expression levels of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), in particular microRNAs and transferRNAs, in order to identify a panel potentially involved in the development and progression of lung cancer and to evaluate the pro-tumor epigenetic modulation induced by exposure to FE fibers. In this regard, in vitro functional experiments were performed on the lung cell line (HBEC3-KT) and on the lung cancer cell line (A549) after exposure to FE fibers. The same unexposed cell lines were used as controls.

Results

An analysis of the results allowed us to identify that ncRNAs strictly involved in lung cancer also differentiated exposure to FE fibers. Furthermore, once the differentially expressed ncRNAs were identified for each comparison, the impact of their dysregulation in metabolic and signaling pathways was also evaluated.

Conclusions

The data obtained in vitro could be validated on a subset of subjects (workers and non-workers) exposed to FE fibers to verify the clinical role of these ncRNAs and their potential use as biomarkers of exposure and/or pathology.