Transcriptome Profiling in Autoimmune Diseases

ABSTRACT

Autoimmune diseases are a group of different inflammatory disorders characterized by systemic or localized inflammation, affecting approximately 0.1–1% of the general population. Several studies suggest that genetic risk loci are shared between different autoimmune diseases and pathogenic mechanisms may also be shared. The strategy of performing differential gene expression profiles in autoimmune disorders has unveiled new transcripts that may be shared among these disorders. Microarray technology and bioinformatics offer the most comprehensive molecular evaluations and it is widely used to understand the changes in gene expression in specific organs or in peripheral blood cells. The major goal of transcriptome studies is the identification of specific biomarkers for different diseases. It is believed that such knowledge will contribute to the development of new drugs, new strategies for early diagnosis, avoiding tissue autoimmune destruction, or even preventing the development of autoimmune disease. In this review, we primarily focused on the transcription profiles of three typical autoimmune disorders, including type 1 diabetes mellitus (destruction of pancreatic islet beta cells), systemic lupus erythematosus (immune complex systemic disorder affecting several organs and tissues), and multiple sclerosis (inflammatory and demyelinating disease of the nervous system). © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2014, 2022.