Clinical Laboratory, The Second Hospital of JiaxingJiaxing, Zhejiang, China.
Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2017 Nov;21(21):4790-4796.
MiR-181a plays a critical role in modulating T cell and B cell differentiation, as well as immune response. Its abnormal expression probably participates in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). MiR-203 is involved in regulating Toll-like receptor and inducing immune tolerance. Abnormal expression or function of miR-203 is related to multiple auto-immune diseases but its role in SLE remains unclear. This study, thus, investigated the serum level of miR-181a and miR-203, to analyze their roles in diagnosing and evaluating SLE.
SLE patients were recruited from our hospital, and divided into non-active and active SLE based on disease activity index, along with healthy individuals. qRT-PCR was used to quantify the serum miR-181a and miR-203 expression, and their correlation with clinical features. ROC was used to evaluate the diagnostic value on SLE, while survival curves were compared to show progression-free survival (PFS) between populations with high and low expression.
SLE patients had significantly higher serum levels of miR-181a and lower miR-203, both of which were correlated with SLE activity. Expression levels of miR-181a and miR-203 were correlated with erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C reactive protein, anti-dsDNA antibody, complements, and SLEDAI score. Their expression levels had certain values in the differential diagnosis for active SLE (AUC=0.885 and 0.843). PFS in miR-181a high-expression individuals was lower than that in the low-miR-181 group (χ2=7.474, p=0.029). Whilst, miR-203 high-expression SLE patients had higher PFS than low-expression group (χ2=4.367, p=0.037).
SLE patients had higher miR-181a and lower miR-203 expression, which thus may have critical implications in disease diagnosis and evaluation.
miR-181a 在调节 T 细胞和 B 细胞分化以及免疫反应方面发挥着关键作用。其异常表达可能参与了系统性红斑狼疮（SLE）的发病机制。miR-203 参与调节 Toll 样受体并诱导免疫耐受。miR-203 的异常表达或功能与多种自身免疫性疾病有关，但它在 SLE 中的作用尚不清楚。因此，本研究检测了血清 miR-181a 和 miR-203 的水平，分析其在 SLE 诊断和评估中的作用。
从我院招募 SLE 患者，根据疾病活动指数分为非活动期和活动期 SLE 患者，并招募健康个体作为对照。qRT-PCR 用于定量检测血清 miR-181a 和 miR-203 的表达水平，并分析其与临床特征的相关性。ROC 用于评估对 SLE 的诊断价值，而生存曲线用于比较高表达和低表达人群之间的无进展生存期（PFS）。
SLE 患者的血清 miR-181a 水平显著升高，miR-203 水平显著降低，两者均与 SLE 活动度相关。miR-181a 和 miR-203 的表达水平与红细胞沉降率、C 反应蛋白、抗 dsDNA 抗体、补体和 SLEDAI 评分相关。它们的表达水平在区分活动期 SLE 方面具有一定的价值（AUC=0.885 和 0.843）。miR-181a 高表达个体的 PFS 低于 miR-181a 低表达组（χ2=7.474，p=0.029）。而 miR-203 高表达的 SLE 患者的 PFS 高于 miR-203 低表达组（χ2=4.367，p=0.037）。
SLE 患者的 miR-181a 表达升高，miR-203 表达降低，这可能对疾病的诊断和评估具有重要意义。
