Analysis of semi-volatile organic compounds in indoor dust and organic thin films by house type in South Korea.

In this study, semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in samples of indoor dust and organic thin films obtained from 100 residential houses in South Korea, were examined, based on both target analysis using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and non-target analysis by gas chromatography-quadrupole time-of flight mass spectrometry (GC-QTOF-MS) screening. In the targeted approach, phthalates and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analyzed in dust and organic film samples, to find that both these classes of SVOCs were detected in dust and organic film samples, with the median concentrations of eight phthalates (Σ8 phthalate) and 16 PAHs (Σ16 PAH) being 1015.93 µg/g and 1824.97 ng/g in the dust samples, and 75.79 µg/m2 and 2252.78 ng/m2 in the organic film samples, respectively. Among the phthalates, in all house types. bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) was detected at the highest concentration, followed by dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and diisobuthyl phthalate (DiBP), with DEHP levels found to be highest in dwelling houses. DEHP levels were found to be significantly associated with building age and renovation status. Lower levels of DEHP were detected in houses less than 10 years old or that had undergone renovation in the previous 10 years. Among the assessed PAHs, a significant correlation was detected between benzo(a)pyrene in dust and building age (p < 0.05). These findings imply that the inhabitants of older houses are at a greater risk of exposure to SVOCs originating from indoor dust and organic films. Non-target screening of selected dust and organic film samples using GC-QTOF-MS data revealed the presence of numerous SVOC compounds, including triphenylphosphine oxide, (Z)-9-octadecenamide, and cyclosiloxanes, along with certain organophosphate flame retardants including tris(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCPP) and tris(1,3-dichloroisopropyl) phosphate (TDCPP), and plasticizers. These compounds identified in the non-target screening are of emerging concern, and their presence in dust and organic films needs to be estimated.

MicroRNA-661 upregulation in myelodysplastic syndromes induces apoptosis through p53 activation and associates with decreased overall survival.

MicroRNA (miRNA) dysregulation contributes to myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), and apoptosis is one of the pathogenic features of MDS. We investigated the dysregulation of miRNA expression and its biological significance in MDS. We compared the expression profiles of miRNAs encoded by chromosome 8 in 65 patients with MDS and 11 controls, and analyzed the in vitro effect of the upregulated miRNA expression. We found that compared to the controls, miR-661 was upregulated by 5.28-fold in patients with MDS. Patients with high miR-661 expression showed significantly decreased overall survival. In vitro study results demonstrated that transfection with a miR-661 mimic induced apoptosis through the activation of p53. These findings suggest that high miR-661 expression can be associated with decreased overall survival and recapitulates apoptosis, the characteristic feature of MDS.

MicroRNA-205-5p is upregulated in myelodysplastic syndromes and induces cell proliferation via PTEN suppression.

Micro (mi)RNA dysregulation is implicated in the development of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Chromosomal abnormalities on 1q are frequently detected in Korean patients with MDS; however, how these are related to disease development is unknown. The present study compared the expression profiles of miRNAs encoded by chromosome 1q between 65 MDS patients and 11 controls. We found that miR-205-5p levels were 12.5 fold higher in the former (P=0.001). miR-205-5p level was increased in 44.7% of patients when an arbitrary 2(-ΔCt) cut-off value of 1.25 was used. miR-205-5p expression data were used to generate a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for miR-205-5p, for which the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.825 (95% confidence interval: 0.710-0.941; P=0.001). Moreover, transfection with a miR-205-5p mimic induced cell proliferation by inhibiting the expression of the tumor suppressor protein phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN). Our findings suggest that miR-205-5p upregulation contributes to MDS by suppressing PTEN and that miR-205-5p thus acts as an oncogene in hematopoietic cells.

MicroRNA-194-5p could serve as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in myelodysplastic syndromes.

Trisomy 8 and trisomy 1q are the most frequent chromosomal abnormalities in Korean patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). MicroRNA (miRNA) deregulation is involved in the development of hematological malignancies, including MDS, and cancer-associated genomic regions are known to encode miRNAs. The aim of the present study was to investigate the involvement of miRNAs encoded by chromosomes 8 and 1q in MDS. For this, the expression of nine miRNAs encoded by chromosome 8 (miR-30b-5p, miR-30d-5p, miR-101-3p, miR-124-3p, miR-151a-5p, miR-320a, miR-486-5p, miR-596, and miR-875-5p) and three miRNAs encoded by chromosome 1q (miR-29c-3p, miR-194-5p, and miR-214-3p) was compared between 65 MDS patients and 11 controls. We found a significant upregulation of miR-194-5p (5.1-fold, P=0.002) and miR-320a (2.94-fold, P=0.016) in MDS patients compared with controls. The patients with low miR-194-5p expression showed a significantly decreased overall survival (P=0.049). The areas under the miR-194-5p and miR-320a ROC curves were 0.797 (P=0.002) and 0.729 (P=0.016), respectively. Although these findings need to be validated in a larger patient population, our results indicate that miR-194-5p is a candidate diagnostic biomarker for MDS and that low miR-194-5p expression could be associated with poor overall survival for MDS patients.