Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Affiliated People's Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang Medical School of Nanjing Medical University, Zhenjiang 212002, China.
Department of Genetic Toxicology, The Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, Center for Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211100, China.
J Immunol Res. 2021 Nov 26;2021:3577011. doi: 10.1155/2021/3577011. eCollection 2021.
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) represent an important novel class of noncoding RNA molecule greater than 200 nucleotides that play a key role in the regulation of autoimmune diseases. Previous studies have demonstrated that MAFTRR (MAF transcriptional regulator RNA) regulated Th1 cells differentiation by inhibiting the expression of MAF in activated CD4 T cells. However, the effect of MAFTRR on the pathogenesis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) remains unclear. This research was aimed at investigating the expression of MAFTRR in Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) as well as the correlation between MAFTRR and Th1 cells.
Thirty-eight HT patients and thirty-eight healthy controls were enrolled in the study. The proportion of Th1 cells and CD8IFN- T cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from these specimens was determined by flow cytometric analysis. The transcript levels of MAFTRR, MAF, and IFNG in PBMCs and thyroid glands were detected by quantitative real-time PCR. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to evaluate the potential value of MAFTRR in the HT patients.
We found that the proportion of circulating Th1 cells and the transcript levels of IFNG were increased in peripheral blood of the HT patients. The transcript levels of MAFTRR were significantly increased in the HT patients and positively correlated with the percentage of Th1 cells and serum levels of antithyroglobulin antibody and antithyroperoxidase antibody. The transcript levels of MAF, a transcription factor that inhibits Th1 cells activity and IFN- production, were attenuated in PBMCs from the HT patients. The transcript levels of IFNG had positive and inverse correlations with MAFTRR and MAF expression in PBMCs from the HT patients, respectively. Additionally, a significantly positive correlation between upregulated MAFTRR expression and augmented IFNG expression was revealed in thyroid tissues from the HT patients. ROC curve suggested that MAFTRR could potentially differentiate the HT patients from healthy controls.
MAFTRR is significantly augmented in the HT patients and may contribute to the pathogenic role of the Th1 cells response in HT.
长非编码 RNA（lncRNA）是一类大于 200 个核苷酸的重要新型非编码 RNA 分子，在调节自身免疫性疾病中发挥关键作用。先前的研究表明，MAFTRR（MAF 转录调节 RNA）通过抑制激活的 CD4 T 细胞中 MAF 的表达来调节 Th1 细胞分化。然而，MAFTRR 对桥本甲状腺炎（HT）发病机制的影响尚不清楚。本研究旨在探讨 MAFTRR 在桥本甲状腺炎（HT）中的表达以及 MAFTRR 与 Th1 细胞的相关性。
纳入 38 例 HT 患者和 38 例健康对照者，采用流式细胞术分析外周血单个核细胞（PBMCs）中 Th1 细胞和 CD8IFN-γ T 细胞的比例。采用实时定量 PCR 检测 PBMCs 和甲状腺组织中 MAFTRR、MAF 和 IFNG 的转录水平。采用受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线分析评估 MAFTRR 在 HT 患者中的潜在价值。
我们发现 HT 患者外周血循环 Th1 细胞比例和 IFNG 转录水平升高。HT 患者 MAFTRR 转录水平显著升高，与 Th1 细胞百分比及血清抗甲状腺球蛋白抗体和抗甲状腺过氧化物酶抗体水平呈正相关。HT 患者 PBMCs 中抑制 Th1 细胞活性和 IFN-γ 产生的转录因子 MAF 表达水平减弱。HT 患者 PBMCs 中 IFNG 转录水平与 MAFTRR 和 MAF 表达呈正相关和负相关。此外，HT 患者甲状腺组织中上调的 MAFTRR 表达与增强的 IFNG 表达之间存在显著正相关。ROC 曲线提示 MAFTRR 可能有助于区分 HT 患者和健康对照者。
HT 患者 MAFTRR 显著升高，可能有助于 Th1 细胞反应在 HT 中的致病作用。
