ABSTRACT
Objective To study the mRNA expression of HS1-associated protein X-1(Hax-1),an an- ti-apoptosis genc,in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMC)of patients with systemic lupus erythe- matosus(SLE),and further investigate the roles and significance of Hax-1 in the pathogenesis of SLE.Meth- ods Generation of longer cDNA fragments from serial analysis of gene expression(SAGE)tags for gene identi- fication(GLGI)was applied to identify the gene Hax-1 according to the Long SAGE tag.Then reverse tran- scription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR)technique was used to semiquantitatively analyze mRNA ex- pressions of Hax-1 in PBMC from 34 active SLE patients and 25 healthy subjects.Results Compared with healthy controls,there was significant difference between SLE patients in the active stage and the normal controls(Z=-4.556,P＜0.01).The average level of mRNA expression in active SLE group was higher than that in healthy controls.Significant difference was found between the group with mild SLE and either the moderate or the severe one(P＜0.01).Conclusion The mRNA expression level of Hax-1 in active SLE group increase markedly,and to some extent,it is related to the activity of SLE.This provides a valuable basis for the further study on the role of apoptosis in SLE.