Evaluation of Micro-RNA199 in systemic lupus erythematosus patients with and without lupus nephritis

Skin and kidney are commonly affected in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with similar molecular mechanisms. Although clinical indicators of renal injury in SLE are fairly uncontroversial, few biomarkers are reliable. The role of Micro-RNAs (miRNAs) in lupus nephritis (LN) pathogenesis has been investigated. The aim of work is to evaluate miRNA199 expression in SLE Egyptian patients and their association with LN. This is a case-control study involving 98 SLE patients with and without LN (LN and non-LN groups), and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were carried out to detect miRNA199 with quantitative Real-Time Polymerase chain reaction methods. The SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI) was assessed. The mean disease duration was 5.9 +/- 3.4 and 6.4 +/- 4.4 months in LN and non-LN, and SLEDAI was 11.98 +/- 5.3 and 10.5 +/- 3.8 in LN and non-LN. miRNA199 expression was significantly decreased in patient groups compared to controls (1.01 +/- 0.03) (P = 0.0001) and in LN (0.41 +/- 0.21) compared to non-LN group (0.55 +/- 0.15) (P = 0.002). There was no correlation between miRNA199 expression and SLEDAI or other clinical and laboratory data of the patients. In conclusion, miRNA199 may play a role in SLE activity and helping in the early diagnosis of LN.