Joint Molecular Rheumatology Laboratory of the Institute of Health Sciences and Shanghai Renji Hospital, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, 145 Shan Dong Middle Road, Shanghai 200001, China.
Nat Rev Rheumatol. 2012 Dec;8(12):701-9. doi: 10.1038/nrrheum.2012.142. Epub 2012 Oct 16.
Dysregulation of gene expression can cause complex disease phenotypes. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are well known to fine-tune cellular gene expression to control immune cell development and regulate adaptive and innate immune responses. Discoveries over the past decade have indicated that aberrant expression of miRNAs is associated with the pathogenesis of multiple immunological diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Indeed, profiling miRNA expression in blood cells, body fluid and target tissues taken from patients with SLE has revealed unique miRNA signatures when compared with healthy individuals or those with other diseases. Moreover, dysregulation of these miRNAs has also been found to be associated with disease activity and major organ involvement. In our opinion, therefore, miRNAs have the potential to act as biomarkers for the diagnosis and assessment of patients with SLE. This Review provides an overview of the novel cellular and molecular mechanisms that seem to underlie the roles of miRNAs in SLE disease processes, as well as the future therapeutic potential of targeting miRNAs in the management of patients with SLE.
基因表达失调可导致复杂的疾病表型。众所周知，微小 RNA（miRNA）可精细调节细胞基因表达，以控制免疫细胞的发育，并调节适应性和固有免疫反应。过去十年的研究发现，miRNA 的异常表达与多种免疫性疾病的发病机制有关，包括系统性红斑狼疮（systemic lupus erythematosus，SLE）。事实上，与健康个体或其他疾病患者相比，对来自 SLE 患者的血细胞、体液和靶组织中的 miRNA 表达进行分析后，揭示了独特的 miRNA 特征。此外，这些 miRNA 的失调也与疾病活动度和主要器官受累有关。因此，我们认为 miRNA 有可能作为 SLE 患者的诊断和评估的生物标志物。本文综述了 miRNA 在 SLE 疾病过程中发挥作用的新的细胞和分子机制，以及针对 miRNA 进行靶向治疗 SLE 患者的未来治疗潜力。
