Meteorological Variables and Micrornas in Elderly Males

Abstract

Meteorological Variables and Micrornas in Elderly MalesAbstract Number:2225 Serena Fossati*, Andrea Baccarelli, Antonella Zanobetti, Pantel S. Vokonas, Robert O. Wright, and Joel D. Schwartz Serena Fossati* Harvard School of Public Health, United States, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author , Andrea Baccarelli Harvard School of Public Health, United States Search for more papers by this author , Antonella Zanobetti Harvard School of Public Health, United States Search for more papers by this author , Pantel S. Vokonas Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System and Boston University, United States Search for more papers by this author , Robert O. Wright Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women s Hospital, United States Search for more papers by this author , and Joel D. Schwartz Harvard School of Public Health, United States Search for more papers by this author AbstractChanges in meteorological variables have been associated with increased morbidity and mortality for all causes, including cardiovascular disease (CVD). Potential mechanisms include inflammation, coagulation and endothelial dysfunction. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) control gene expression at a posttranscriptional level. Altered miRNAs expression has been reported in inflammation, coagulation and endothelial dysfunction processes. We investigated the association between temperature (T) [ºC], barometric pressure (P) [inches Hg], relative humidity (RH) [%] and water vapor pressure (WVP) [hPa], in different time windows [4-hours to 28-days moving averages)] and expression changes in fourteen candidate microRNAs.Methods 166 elderly males from the greater Boston area were studied (one visit between 2005 and 2007). Weather parameters were obtained from the National Weather Service Station at Logan Airport. We performed an in silico pathway analysis on both experimentally validated and predicted targets of miRNAs associated with each meteorological variable.Results Complete data were available for 153 participants (mean[SD] age 77[6] years). We found linear associations between meteorological variables and miRNAs, the largest and most consistent being with 7-days mean T, 21-days mean P and 2-days mean WVP. We found a statistically significant negative association between 7-days mean T and miR-125b, -146a and -222, and between 2-days mean WVP and miR-9 and -146a. We observed a statistically significant positive association for 21-days mean P and miR-1, -96 -135a and -146a. We did not observe any significant association with RH. ‘Toll-like receptor signaling pathway’ and ‘NF-kappa B signaling pathway’ were among the top ten pathways enriched in targets of miRNAs associate with T, P and WVP.Conclusions Changes in miRNAs expression may represent a mechanism mediating responses to meteorological variables.