Over-expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 2 gene in the peripheral blood cells is correlated with active disease in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus / 中华风湿病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the expression of Signal transducer and activator of transcription 2 (STAT2) gene in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, and to evaluate the possible connections between STAT2 gene expression levels and clinical features. Methods One hundred and forty-four SLE patients, 27 non-SLE patients with other rheumatisms and 58 normal controls were recruited for this research, and the subjects were surveyed for clinical data collection. SYBR Green Dye based real-time quantitative PCR method was used to compare the expression levels of STAT2 in patients with SLE and those in the controls. The correlation of the gene expression levels and disease activity and specificity was studied. Results STAT2 expression levels (5.2±1.7) in SLE patients were remarkably higher than those in non-SLE patients and normal controls (4.3±1.1, 4.5±1.2, P<0.01 in both). The expression levels of STAT1 were increased in active SLE patients(5.2±1.5), comparing with those observed in inactive SLE patients (4.8±2.9, P<0.01), and expression levels of STAT1 in SLE patients were negatively correlated with C3 levels in sera (r=-0.449, P<0.01) whereas were positively correlated with SLEDAI-2K score and 24 hour urine protein (r=0.317, 0.309, P<0.01 in both). Conclusion Over-expression of STAT2 gene in the peripheral blood cells is linked with the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus, and the elevated expression level of STAT2 is correlated with SEE disease activity.