Functional analysis of endocrine disruptor pesticides affected transcriptome and microRNA regulation in human hepatoma cell line

Abstract

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) alter the normal endocrine system of wildlife and humans. Among pesticides, a large number of chemicals have been identified as endocrine disruptors. Pesticides are designed to be toxic to pests and vectors of disease; however, human beings can easily be exposed to these chemicals because they are present in the environment at very low levels. In the present study, we examined the adverse effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals by screening transcripts and microRNAs. microRNAs are known as regulators of many protein coding genes. Therefore, the microRNAs regulating mRNAs were analyzed, including functional analysis. In addition, we tried to compare two types of chemicals, endocrine disruptor pesticides and EDCs. Endocrine disruptor pesticides were found to affect the reproductive or development systems by altering the Wnt signaling pathway, similar to EDCs. On the other hand, the genes involved in axon guidance and ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis were differentially regulated by treatment with endocrine disruptor pesticides compared with EDCs.