Abstract
Environmental or occupational exposure to pesticides is considered one of the main risk factors for the development of various diseases. Behind the development of pesticide-associated pathologies, there are both genetic and epigenetic alterations, where these latter are mainly represented by the alteration in the expression levels of microRNAs and by the change in the methylation status of the DNA. At present, no studies have comprehensively evaluated the genetic and epigenetic alterations induced by pesticides; therefore, the aim of the present study was to identify modifications in gene miRNA expression and DNA methylation useful for the prediction of pesticide exposure. For this purpose, an integrated analysis of gene expression, microRNA expression, and DNA methylation datasets obtained from the GEO DataSets database was performed to identify putative genes, microRNAs, and DNA methylation hotspots associated with pesticide exposure and responsible for the development of different diseases. In addition, DIANA-miRPath, STRING, and GO Panther prediction tools were used to establish the functional role of the putative biomarkers identified. The results obtained demonstrated that pesticides can modulate the expression levels of different genes and induce different epigenetic alterations in the expression levels of miRNAs and in the modulation of DNA methylation status.
Highlights
ObjectivesNo studies have comprehensively evaluated the genetic and epigenetic alterations induced by pesticides; the aim of the present study was to identify modifications in gene miRNA expression and DNA methylation useful for the prediction of pesticide exposure
Some studies have already associated pesticide exposure with the aforementioned epigenetic alterations [8,22,23]; to the best of our knowledge, there are no studies that encompass the study of both genetic and epigenetic alterations associated with pesticide exposure
The integrated bioinformatics analyses of gene expression, miRNA expression, and DNA methylation datasets performed here have allowed the identification of genetic and epigenetic alterations associated with pesticide exposure that could be predictive for the development of both tumor and neurodegenerative diseases
Summary
No studies have comprehensively evaluated the genetic and epigenetic alterations induced by pesticides; the aim of the present study was to identify modifications in gene miRNA expression and DNA methylation useful for the prediction of pesticide exposure. The aim of the present study was to identify a panel of genetic and epigenetic alterations induced by the exposure to pesticides that could be predictive for the development of diseases associated with these toxicants
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