Expression of TPP1 and POT1 mRNA in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus / 中华风湿病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the expression levels of telomeric protein TPP1 and POT1mRNA in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and the relations between these gene expression levels and disease activity are explored. Methods TPP1 and POT1 genes were measured using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in PBMCs. The expression levels of TPP1 and POT1 genes in PBMCs were compared between 48 SLE patients and 30 healthy indivi-duals. Results The expression levels of TPP1 and POT1 in the PBMCs of SLE patients significantly decreased compared to healthy individuals (P<0.01). The expression levels of TPP1 and POT1 were much lower in SLE patients with lupus nephritis than those in patients without lupus nephritis (P<0.01), and in LN patients, the levels of TPP1 and POT1 were negatively correlated with proteinuria. The expression levels of POT1 in active SLE patients was lower than that in inactive SLE patients (P<0.05). The expression levels of POT1 was negatively correlated with serum IgG and SLEDAI scores, but positively correlated with complement C3, but no correlation between ESR, CRP, C4,ANA and the expression levels of TPP1, POT1, SLEDAI scores. Conclusion TPP1 and POT1 genes play a key role in the etiology of SLE, and they are involved in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis. POT1 is helpful in evaluating SLE disease activity and severity.