Open AccessMicroRNA-146a expression as a potential biomarker for rheumatoid arthritis in Egypt
Author(s) -
Heba Mohamed Abdelkader Elsayed,
Walaa Shawky Khater,
Ayman Asaad Ibrahim,
Maha S. Hamdy,
Nashwa Aly Morshedy
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the egyptian journal of medical human genetics /the egyptian journal of medical human genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.253
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 2090-2441
pISSN - 1110-8630
DOI - 10.1016/j.ejmhg.2016.07.001
Subject(s) - biomarker , rheumatoid arthritis , microrna , medicine , immune system , erythrocyte sedimentation rate , immunology , proinflammatory cytokine , oncology , gastroenterology , inflammation , biology , gene , genetics
Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs, whose role in regulating diverse immune functions, suggests they might play a role as biomarkers for immune mediated disorders. Studies showed that miRNA-146a (miR-146a) expression is increased by proinflammatory cytokines and is an important modulator of differentiation and function of cells of innate and adaptive immunity.Aim of the work: The current study aimed to evaluate the expression of miR-146a as a potential biomarker for diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to explore its association with disease activity.Subjects and methods: The study enrolled 50 Egyptian subjects divided into a patient group, which comprised 25 RA patients, and a control group which comprised 25 healthy individuals. The disease activity for the patients’ group was determined by simplified disease activity index. Relative quantification of miR-146a expression in whole blood was determined using reverse transcriptase quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction.Results: There were highly significant statistical differences between patients and healthy controls as regards miR-146a relative expression, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) (p < 0.001). Highly significant statistical differences (p < 0.001) were also found between different patients’ subgroups as regards miR-146a relative expression and ESR. miR-146a levels correlated positively with those of ESR, C-reactive protein and anti-CCP (p < 0.001).miR-146a illustrated best performance in diagnosing RA, showing the highest sensitivity and specificity (96% and 100%, respectively) (AUC: 0.992 at a cut off value of ⩾2.16) compared to anti-CCP (sensitivity: 68%, specificity: 100% and AUC: 0.87 at a cut off value of ⩾ 22 U/ml) and RF (sensitivity: 56%, specificity: 80% and AUC: 0.992 at a cut off value of ⩾13 U/ml).Conclusion: This study demonstrated that miR-146a expression was highly significantly elevated in whole blood of patients with RA. Its diagnostic performance was better than anti-CCP and RF and its level of expression correlates with disease activity