Autophagy-related genes in Egyptian patients with Behçet's disease

Background Behçet's disease (BD) is a chronic, multi-systemic, recurrent condition that affects the vascular, ocular, mucocutaneous, and central nervous systems. The diagnosis of this disease depends on its clinical features, which are similar to those observed in several diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, pemphigus vulgaris, systemic lupus erythematosus, Crohn ҆s disease, and Sjӧgren’s syndrome. Lysosome-mediated autophagy is a catabolic, cytoprotective mechanism that maintains cell homeostasis by degrading undesired long-lived proteins and recycling nutrients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlations between some autophagy-related genes ( ATG5 , ATG7 , ATG12 , LC3b , mTOR ) and the pathogenesis and immunopathology of BD. The expression levels of the genes were evaluated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) in 101 individuals that are classified into two groups. Group 1: ( n = 71) BD patients, Group 2: ( n = 30) healthy controls. Results Patients with BD had lower mRNA expression levels of ATG5 and mTOR and higher levels of LC3b mRNA than the controls. No significant differences in the levels of both ATG7 and ATG12 were observed between the two groups. According to the area under the curve analysis, LC3b was considered the best candidate biomarker among the selected markers for the diagnosis of BD. The mRNA expression of ATG5 was significantly correlated with patient age and the presence of oral ulcers. The mRNA expression of ATG7 was significantly associated with age and the presence of erythema nodosum and vascular lesions, whereas that of LC3b was significantly correlated with the presence of pustules. Conclusion These findings indicated that elevated levels of LC3b were strongly associated with BD. Likewise, the levels of ATG5 and ATG7 were associated with the complications and outcomes of this disease. Additional assessments of the mRNA expression levels of these autophagy-related genes might prove beneficial in diagnosing this autoimmune disorder.