Integrated mRNA and microRNA profiling in lung tissue and blood from human silicosis.

Background: The overwhelming majority of subjects in the current silicosis mRNA and microRNA (miRNA) expression profile are of human blood, lung cells or a rat model, which puts limits on the understanding of silicosis pathogenesis and therapy. To address the limitations, our investigation was focused on differentially expressed mRNA and miRNA profiles in lung tissue from silicosis patients to explore potential biomarker for early detection of silicosis.

Methods: A transcriptome study was conducted based on lung tissue from 15 silicosis patients and eight normal people, and blood samples from 404 silicosis patients and 177 normal people.