Expression of miR-151a-3p in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of children with lupus nephritis and its correlation with disease activity and vascular damage / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the expression of miR-151a-3p in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of children with lupus nephritis (LN) and its correlation with activity and vascular damage.Methods:A total of 87 children with LN admitted in Hainan Women and Children′s Medical Center from January 2016 to March 2019 were enrolled, including 16 cases of type Ⅱ, 14 cases of type Ⅲ, 34 cases of type Ⅳ, 17 cases of type Ⅴ and 6 cases of type Ⅵ.Besides, additional 40 children with normal physical examination were selected as the healthy control group.The 87 children with LN were divided into the LN stable group (31 cases) and LN active group (56 cases) by using systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (SLEDAI) scores.According to different proportions of the medium membrane, the patients were classified into the mild group (25 cases), moderate group (34 cases) and severe group (28 cases). Real time quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to detect the expression level of miR-151a-3p in PBMCs of each group.The correlation of the expression level of miR-151a-3p in PBMCs of LN children with the SLEDAI score and renal interstitial damage score was studied by Pearson correlation analysis. Results:The expression levels of miR-151a-3p in the LN group, LN active group and LN stable group (0.47 ± 0.06, 0.30 ± 0.04, and 0.75±0.12, respectively) were significantly lower than that in the healthy control group (1.62±0.35) (all P<0.01), and the expression level of miR-151a-3p in the LN active group (0.30±0.04) was significantly lower than that in the LN stable group (0.75±0.12) ( P< 0.01). The SLEDAI score [(14.35±4.60) points vs.(8.25±2.24) points] and renal interstitial damage score [(52.70±6.30) points vs.(34.80±4.10) points] in the LN active group were significantly higher than those in the LN stable group (all P<0.01). The expression levels of miR-151a-3p (0.18±0.02, 0.41±0.05 vs.0.83±0.16) in type Ⅴ-Ⅵ and type Ⅳ groups were significantly lower than that in the type Ⅱ-Ⅲ group (all P<0.01). The SLEDAI scores [(16.50±5.28) points, (12.36±3.74) points vs.(6.40±1.70) points] and renal interstitial damage scores [(62.70±7.40) points, (47.20±5.80) points vs.(25.80±3.50) points] in type Ⅴ-Ⅵ and type Ⅳ groups were significantly higher than those in the type Ⅱ-Ⅲ group (all P< 0.01). The expression levels of miR-151a-3p (0.20±0.02, 0.39±0.04, 0.86±0.18 vs.1.62±0.35) in severe, moderate and mild groups were significantly lower than that in the healthy control group (all P<0.01), and the expression level of miR-151a-3p decreased with the aggravation of vascular damage.The SLEDAI scores [(15.20±5.10) points, (12.85±3.90) points vs.(6.70±1.82) points] and renal interstitial damage scores [(57.30±6.80) points, (51.60±6.30) points vs.(27.20±3.60) points] in the severe and moderate groups were significantly higher than those in the mild group (all P<0.01). The expression level of miR-151a-3p in LN children was negatively correlated with the SLEDAI score and renal interstitial damage score ( r=-0.682, -0.627, all P<0.001). Conclusions:The expression level of miR-151a-3p in PBMCs of LN children is significantly decreased.The declined miR-151a-3p level is closely related to disease activity and vascular damage, and may be involved in the occurrence and development of LN.