Transcriptional changes in A549 cells after four weeks of exposure to 30 μg/ml diesel exhaust particles measured by Agilent SurePrint G3 Human Gene Expression Microarray.

Diesel exhaust particles (DEP), which contain hazardous compounds, are emitted during the combustion of diesel. As approximately one-third of the vehicles worldwide use diesel, there are growing concerns on the risks posed by DEP to human health. Long-term exposure to DEP is associated with airway hyperresponsiveness, pulmonary fibrosis, and inflammation; however, the molecular mechanisms behind the effects of DEP on the respiratory tract are poorly understood. Such mechanisms can be addressed by examining transcriptional and DNA methylation changes. In this study, we investigated the effect of 4 weeks exposure to 30 μg/ml DEP on gene expression levels in A549 cells. A549 cells were treated with 30 μg/ml DEP for four weeks, using 2-3 biological replicates. The gene expression leves for control and treated groups were obtained using Agilent SurePrint G3 Human Gene Expression Microarray. The effect of DEP on transcriptome was assesed based on the results of differentially expression analyses compared to the control