Genetics Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical School, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
Autoimmun Rev. 2012 Jul;11(9):636-41. doi: 10.1016/j.autrev.2011.11.004. Epub 2011 Nov 12.
The epigenetic mechanisms in regulation of genes' expression seem to be another field of research that gains land in genetic association studies of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) susceptibility factors. Recently, a new class of molecules has been discovered, the microRNAs (miRNAs). miRNAs are related to post-transcriptional regulation of genes' expression. Different expression patterns of mir-146a, miRNA-155, miRNA-124a, mir-203, mir-223, mir-346, mir-132, mir-363, mir-498, mir-15a, and mir-16 were documented in several tissue sample types of RA patients. The polymorphisms of these miRNAs and their gene targets, which previously have been associated with RA or other autoimmune diseases, are also reviewed. Finally, using web-based tools we propose polymorphisms of the discussed miRNAs and their gene-targets that worth to be studied for their role in RA predisposition.
表观遗传机制在基因表达调控中似乎是另一个研究领域，在类风湿关节炎（RA）易感性因素的遗传关联研究中也取得了进展。最近，人们发现了一类新的分子，即 microRNAs（miRNAs）。miRNAs 与基因表达的转录后调控有关。miR-146a、miR-155、miR-124a、miR-203、miR-223、miR-346、miR-132、miR-363、miR-498、miR-15a 和 miR-16 在 RA 患者的几种组织样本类型中表现出不同的表达模式。这些 miRNAs 及其基因靶标的多态性以前与 RA 或其他自身免疫性疾病有关，也进行了综述。最后，我们使用基于网络的工具，提出了讨论中的 miRNA 及其基因靶标的多态性，值得研究它们在 RA 易感性中的作用。
