TRANSCRIPTOME ANALYSIS OF mRNAs AND SMALL-RNAs MODULATED BY EMERGING CONTAMINANTS IN A HUMAN PLACENTAL MODEL

• Grant number: 24/00420-4
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: July 01, 2024
• End date: June 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Medical Clinics
• Principal Investigator: Celia Regina Nogueira
• Grantee: Celia Regina Nogueira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FMB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Geysson Javier Fernandez Garcia
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/15558-1 - TRANSCRIPTOME ANALYSIS OF mRNAs AND SMALL-RNAs MODULATED BY EMERGING CONTAMINANTS IN A HUMAN PLACENTAL MODEL, BP.TT

Abstract

Endocrine disruptors (EDs) are considered an emerging global public health problem due to their ability to cause adverse systemic hormonal effects, which can alter the human genome, affecting future generations. It is known that plastics cause serious environmental consequences, as they have remained in the environment for centuries. Plastic is degraded into micro and nanoparticles that can contaminate air, soil, water and all life around it. Brazil produces more than 325 thousand tons of plastic waste/year, which, in addition to environmental impacts, directly interferes with the country's economic activity. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified a problem that has been accumulating for more than 70 years, which is the inadequate production and disposal of plastics. Social isolation has changed the consumption profile of Brazilians who are using the "delivery" service more, generating a 30% monthly increase in discarded packaging. Plastics adsorb DEs, such as bisphenol A (BFA) and F (BFF), which have deleterious effects on human health. The transcriptome corresponds to the set of RNAs transcribed in a cell, originating from a dynamic cellular process, derived from response programming to the environment. The use of the transcriptome provides a comprehensive view of the action of DEs on the expression of considerable genes, paving the way for understanding their transgenerational effects. The objective of this study is to verify the contaminating potential of BFA and BFF microparticles at an epigenetic level, in addition to important biological mechanisms that may have transgenerational effects. For this, a 3D human placental model (MPH3D) will be built, based on the scaffold-based technique, previously built and tested by our research group. (AU)