ABSTRACT
Introduction: The current study was designed to analyze whether polymorphisms of miR-146a and miR-155 are related to Behçet's disease (BD) in the Egyptian population. Material and methods: A total of 96 unrelated BD patients and 100 healthy subjects were genotyped for miR-146a (rs2910164) and miR-155 (rs767649) using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: The results showed significant elevation in the frequency of rs2910164 GG and CC genotypes in BD patients compared with controls (adjusted OR = 22.156, 95% CI: 4.728-103.818; p < 0.001 and adjusted OR = 40.358, 95% CI: 8.928-182.440; p < 0.001, respectively). Also, the rs2910164 G allele conferred a higher risk of developing BD (adjusted OR = 3.665, 95% CI: 2.013-6.671; p < 0.001). MiR-146a (rs2910164) polymorphism was a risk factor for susceptibility to BD in dominant, recessive and additive models of inheritance (all p < 0.001), while the miR-155 (rs767649) polymorphism was a risk factor in the recessive model only (p = 0.021). GG and CG genotypes of rs2910164 were associated with higher Behcet's disease current activity index (BDCAI) and ocular involvement compared with CC genotype (p = 0.005 and p = 0.004, respectively). Genotype AT of rs767649 was related to higher BDCAI (p = 0.026) compared with TT and AA genotypes. Conclusions: miR-146a (rs2910164) and miR-155 (rs767649) are likely to play an important role in the Egyptian population in development of BD and also influence disease severity.
ABSTRACT
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory disease. We aimed to measure the level of miR-155 and its genetic variant rs767649 in patients with RA and to evaluate their relationship with ischemia-modified albumin (IMA). The study was performed on 79 patients with RA (group I) and 78 healthy control participants (group II). Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to assess the expression of serum miR-155 in addition to its functional variant rs767649. IMA levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Significant overexpression of miR-155 and higher levels of IMA were detected in patients with RA compared with those in controls (P < 0.0001). The fold change in miR-155 was significantly positively associated with IMA (r = 0.362, P = 0.001) in patients with RA. Significant differences in the frequency of miR-155 (rs767649) genotypes and alleles were noted between patients with RA and controls. MiR-155 and IMA levels were significantly associated with the genotype distribution of miR-155 (rs767649) in patients with RA and were higher in patients with the TT genotype. MiR-155 and its functional variant rs767649 might play an important role in susceptibility to the increased risk of RA, stressing the role of miR-155 as a therapeutic target in the treatment of RA. In addition, IMA levels were increased and correlated with miR-155 and its single nucleotide polymorphism rs767649 in Egyptian patients with RA.
Subject(s)
Arthritis, Rheumatoid/immunology , MicroRNAs/immunology , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide/immunology , Serum Albumin, Human/immunology , Adult , Arthritis, Rheumatoid/blood , Arthritis, Rheumatoid/genetics , Biomarkers/blood , Case-Control Studies , Female , Humans , Male , MicroRNAs/blood , MicroRNAs/genetics , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide/geneticsABSTRACT
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important role in gene regulation and show greater tissue specificity and complexity of biological functions. There is on-going research in their contribution in autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS). Our study aimed at the evaluation of serum levels of lncRNAs, MALAT1 and lnc-DC in MS patients and the investigation of the association between these lncRNAs and the disease activity. Serum from 45 MS patients and 45 healthy controls was separated. MALAT1 and lnc-DC expression levels were assayed by qRT-PCR. MALAT1 and lnc-DC were significantly increased in MS patients (P=0.004 and P=0.006, respectively) in comparison with controls. There was a significant increase in expression of MALAT1 in secondary progressive MS (SPMS) subgroup compared with controls (P<0.0001); however, significant elevation of lnc-DC was demonstrated in relapsing remitting MS (RRMS) subtype (P=0.003) compared with normal controls. A positive association between the expression levels of MALAT1 and lnc-DC (r = 0.513, P < 0.0001) in MS patients was detected. Moreover, positive correlation was observed between MALAT1and lnc-DC in RRMS (r = 0.569, P = 0.001). Serum levels of MALAT1 and lnc-DC may serve as potential novel molecular biomarkers for MS diagnosis and may provide a new direction for its treatment.
