Mohamed Nada R, El-Fattah Abeer L Abd, Shaker Olfat, Sayed Ghadir A
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Egyptian Russian University, Cairo, Egypt.
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy (Girls), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
Sci Rep. 2024 Dec 17;14(1):30537. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-81212-5.
Lupus nephritis (LN) is a serious problem that results from systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) complications. Recent studies have highlighted that non-coding RNA (ncRNA) dysregulation is a notable feature in patients with SLE. As a result, this research was designed to investigate lncRNA CASC2 and miR-155 levels as non-invasive diagnostic biomarkers in SLE patients, including those with and without nephritis, and to investigate their effectiveness in assessing disease severity and predicting LN. Our study included 60 patients with SLE who were subclassified into (30 non-LN and 30 LN groups), along with 30 control subjects. Quantification of lncRNA CASC2 and miR-155 in serum samples from the Egyptian population was carried out with real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The disease activity index (SLEDAI) for SLE was evaluated, and the analysis of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was implemented. Increased levels of lncRNA CASC2 were observed in SLE patients compared to healthy controls, with even higher levels observed in the LN group versus the non-LN patients' group. Conversely, miR-155 was noted to be down-regulated in SLE patients relative to controls, and its levels were lower in the LN group relative to the non-LN patients' group. The elevated expression of lncRNA CASC2 and reduced expression of miR-155 were both correlated to the severity of the disease. The current study illustrated that both lncRNA CASC2 and miR-155 could act as valuable non-invasive diagnostic biomarkers for SLE and predicting LN among SLE patients, as well as their abilities to detect the disease severity and progression.
狼疮性肾炎（LN）是系统性红斑狼疮（SLE）并发症导致的一个严重问题。最近的研究强调，非编码RNA（ncRNA）失调是SLE患者的一个显著特征。因此，本研究旨在调查长链非编码RNA CASC2和miR-155水平，将其作为SLE患者（包括有肾炎和无肾炎患者）的非侵入性诊断生物标志物，并研究它们在评估疾病严重程度和预测LN方面的有效性。我们的研究纳入了60例SLE患者，将其分为（30例非LN组和30例LN组），同时纳入30名对照受试者。采用实时聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）对埃及人群血清样本中的长链非编码RNA CASC2和miR-155进行定量分析。评估SLE的疾病活动指数（SLEDAI），并绘制受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线进行分析。与健康对照相比，SLE患者中长链非编码RNA CASC2水平升高，LN组相对于非LN患者组的水平更高。相反，相对于对照，SLE患者中miR-155被发现下调，LN组相对于非LN患者组其水平更低。长链非编码RNA CASC2的表达升高和miR-155的表达降低均与疾病严重程度相关。当前研究表明，长链非编码RNA CASC2和miR-155均可作为SLE的有价值的非侵入性诊断生物标志物，用于预测SLE患者中的LN，以及它们检测疾病严重程度和进展的能力。
