Altered expression of miR-142, miR-155, miR-499a and of their putative common target in systemic lupus erythematosus.

To evaluate genetic and expression variability of three miRNAs potentially involved in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to identify any miRNA's target gene. Gene polymorphisms and expression levels of three miRNAs have been evaluated in a cohort of SLE patients and controls. miR-142 and miR-499a were significantly down-expressed in patients (p = 0.005 and p = 0.02, respectively). A trend for down-expression of miR-155 was also observed (p = 0.07). The lower expression of miR-142 was associated with the rs2632516 polymorphism variant allele (p = 0.002). Predictive analyses identified a target gene common to the three miRNAs, , whose higher expression was seen in patients compared with controls (p = 0.03). The three miRNAs and MDM2 might be involved in SLE.