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- The modifying role of major cardiovascular risk factors in the association between retirement and cardiovascular disease: Results from SHARE PortugalPublication . Sousa Uva, Mafalda; Fonseca, António Manuel; Nunes, Baltazar; Sousa-Uva, Antonio; Rodrigues, Ana Paula; Matias Dias, CarlosBackground: Despite the actual demographic trends and the global burden of cardiovascular diseases, there is little knowledge concerning the effects of retirement on this health outcome. Objective: We aimed to quantify the associations between retirement, and retirement age, with cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke) in the Portuguese population. Methods: We used data from the first Portuguese wave of the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Logistic regression was applied to quantify the associations. The major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and several features of retirement were considered as possible confounders or effect modifiers. Analysis was restricted to retirees in retirement process (retired for 5 years or less) and not retired because of illness. Results: An opposite direction of the association between retirement and heart disease was observed according to hypertension status, although not significant. Early retirement increased the odds of having a stroke, merely in individuals without heart disease (OR = 8.87; 95% CI 1.63-48.26). On the contrary, in individuals with heart disease, decreased the odds of having a stroke (OR = 0.08; 95% CI 0.01-0.68). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that retirement and retirement age may be beneficial or harmful, respectively, in the presence or absence of major risk factors for heart disease and stroke. We suggest that work-related stress affecting differently workers with and without these risk factors may eventually explain these findings.
- Functional effects of differentially expressed microRNAs in alveolar epithelial cells exposed to MWCNT-7 or crocidolitePublication . Ventura, Célia; Vieira, Luís; Silva, Catarina; Sousa-Uva, Antonio; Silva, Maria JoãoBackground and Aims Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) are widely used engineered nanomaterials in industrial and biomedical applications, but their inhalation may induce pulmonary adverse effects. Moreover, the MWCNT-7 (Mitsui-7) has been classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans. Nevertheless, MWCNT-7 molecular modes of action are poorly understood and there are no biomarkers of exposure or effect for occupational monitoring. Recently, several pulmonary diseases, including lung cancer, have been associated with alterations in microRNA expression. These changes are potentially useful to detect or evaluate disease progression and to understand the molecular effects induced by the disease or toxicant. In this study, we describe a set of differentially expressed microRNAs (DE miRNAs) in A549 epithelial alveolar cells, following exposure to an occupationally relevant dose of MWCNT-7 or crocidolite. The functional pathways and ontology terms enriched with genes targeted by DE miRNAs were identified. Moreover, an interaction network of DE miRNAs-target cancer genes was constructed.
- Exploring the potential of microRNAs as biomarkers of effect of nanofibres using MWCNT-7-exposed alveolar cellsPublication . Ventura, Célia; Vieira, Luís; Silva, Catarina; Sousa-Uva, Antonio; Silva, Maria JoãoBackground: In the last years, several diseases have been associated with alterations in microRNA (miRNA) expression, and miRNA profiling has proved to be useful to detect or evaluate disease progression. Moreover, there has been attempts to identify differentially expressed (DE) miRNA after exposure to toxicants that could be used as biomarkers of effect. Since human exposure to nanofibres, such as the MWCNT-7, has considerably increased due to their incorporation in several consumer products, this work explores the use of DE miRNA for monitoring human exposure to MWCNT-7 and their effects. Methods: We analyzed DE miRNAs in A549 alveolar cells following 24 hours exposure to an occupationally relevant dose of MWCNT-7. Total RNA was used to generate cDNA libraries for sequencing in MiSeq (Illumina). Differential expression analysis of miRNAs between non-exposed and exposed cells was performed using DESeq2 and EdgeR Exact Test. Results: Several under- and over-expressed miRNAs were sequenced in A549 cells after 24 h exposure to MWCNT-7. After filtering them according to the criteria adopted, a set of 17 DE miRNAs was identified. Some of these miRNAs have been reported as regulators of pathways related to cell growth, proliferation, differentiation and survival. Conclusions: Although more studies are needed, it is likely that the miRNA profile here identified may provide a novel biomarker of human exposure to MWCNT-7 by inhalation.