Study of the acute effects of cigarette smoking on circulating microRNAs and the effects of their deregulation in endothelial cells
The prevalence of tobacco smoking appears to be increasing in Europe and Asia, as well as in Africa. A recent report by the World Health Organization showed that in Italy 28.3% of the adult male population and 19.7% of the female population regularly use tobacco, and this figure is going to increase in the years to come. Smoking alters the cellular concentration of toxic substances such as the oxygen radicals which have been implicated directly in atherosclerosis onset and further development of cardiovascular diseases. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small noncoding regulatory RNA, play an important role in intracellular communication and many cellular mechanisms. Their expression is altered by environmental exposure to cigarette smoke and the profile of circulating plasma miRNAs was found altered in smokers.
My project focuses on the expression study of circulating miRs will be evaluated in healthy subjects before and after smoking one cigarette. Functional studies will be carried out to find out the effects of those miRNAs whose levels are altered by cigarette smoking.
This will allow identification of miRNA-mediated mechanisms responsible for effects of cigarette smoking on endothelial disfunction, increasing the knowledge of molecular damages induced by tobacco smoking to the vascular system.