Expression of miR-146a and miR-155 in the urinary sediment of systemic lupus erythematosus.

We studied the levels of miR-146a and miR-155 in the urine sediment of SLE patients. The levels of miR-146a and miR-155 in the urine sediment of 40 SLE patients who were receiving calcitriol treatment and 13 healthy controls were determined with real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The levels of urinary miR-146a and miR-155 in patients with SLE were significantly higher than that in healthy controls. Calcitriol treatment reduced the levels of urinary miR-155 in patients with SLE. The level of urinary miR-146a significantly correlated with estimated glomerular filtration rate (r = 0.242, P = 0.008). The level of urinary miR-155 significantly correlated with proteinuria (r = 0.407, P < 0.001) and systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (r = 0.278, P = 0.002). The level of urinary miR-146a reversely correlated with the urinary expression of TNF-α (r = -0.247, P = 0.012). Our results suggested that miR-146a and miR-155 might play important roles in the pathophysiology of SLE and the levels of urinary miR-146a and miR-155 could be used as potential markers for diagnosis, disease activity, and therapeutic response.