Arsenic toxi-RNomics has the ability to tailor the host immune response

• Published in: Experimental and molecular pathology Vol. 99; no. 2; pp. 360 - 364
• Main Authors: Sharma, S., Kaul, D., Singh, D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Inc 01-10-2015
• Subjects: Animals; Arsenic; Arsenites - toxicity; Balb/C mice; Biomarkers, Tumor - genetics; Cells, Cultured; Enzyme Inhibitors - toxicity; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation; Healthy Volunteers; Humans; IgA class-switching; Immunity, Cellular - drug effects; Immunity, Cellular - immunology; Immunomodulation; Immunophenotyping; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; MicroRNAs - genetics; miR-2909; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Messenger - genetics; RNomics; Sodium Compounds - toxicity; T-Lymphocytes - drug effects; T-Lymphocytes - immunology; T-Lymphocytes - metabolism; Th1 Cells - drug effects; Th1 Cells - immunology; Th1 Cells - metabolism; miR-2909; IgA class-switching; Arsenic; Immunomodulation; Balb/C mice; RNomics
• ISSN: 0014-4800; 1096-0945
• DOI: 10.1016/j.yexmp.2015.08.008

Arsenic biology has caught the imagination of scientists across the globe because of its unique association with degenerative diseases in general and cancer in particular. Recent findings have added a new dimension to arsenic biology by revealing that most of the arsenic epigenomic effects are mediated through its ability to induce cellular miR-2909 expression at low doses. The present study was addressed to explore the molecular link that might exist between arsenic exposure, miR-2909 RNomics involving immunomodulatory genes and effector IgA class switching, revealed that arsenic-exposed Balb/c mice exhibited predominant Th1 immune response coupled with effector IgA class switching thereby tailoring their immune system to ensure increased risk to infections and chronic diseases like cancer.
•Arsenic regulates immune response through AATF genome.•Arsenic regulates T-cell plasticity.•Arsenic regulates effector class switching through miR-2909.