Altered Expression of miR-142, miR-155, miR-499a and of their Putative Common Target MDM2 in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate genetic and expression variability of three miRNAs potentially involved in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to identify any miRNA’s target gene. Materials&methods: Gene polymorphisms and expression levels of three miRNAs have been evaluated in a cohort of SLE patients and controls. Results: 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, MDM2, whose higher expression was seen in patients compared with controls (p = 0.03). Conclusion: The three miRNAs and MDM2 might be involved in SLE.

Keywords::

• expression study
• lupus erythematosus systemic
• MDM2
• miRNAs
• polymorphisms

Supplementary data

To view the supplementary data that accompany this paper please visit the journal website at: www.tandfonline.com/doi/suppl/10.2217/epi-2020-0278

Financial&competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Ethical conduct of research

The authors state that they have obtained appropriate institutional review board approval or have followed the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki for all human or animal experimental investigations. In addition, for investigations involving human subjects, informed consent has been obtained from the participants involved.