Abstract
The symptomatology of lupus nephritis (LN) consists of foamy urine and lower leg edema, as well as such systemic manifestations as oral ulcers, arthralgia/arthritis, and lymphadenopathy. However, these symptoms may appear mild and non-specific. If these symptoms are unrecognized, thus delaying treatment, approximately 10% of LN patients will develop permanent kidney damage and end-stage kidney disease. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify a surrogate biomarker for the early detection of LN. In this study, we first adopted next generation sequencing (NGS) in order to screen differential expression levels of microRNA between SLE patients with and without LN. The results of both the NGS and the literature review confirmed the potential of 15 microRNAs through real-time qPCR. We further considered clinical laboratory data for additional analysis. In total, 41 microRNAs demonstrated significant differences through NGS screening. We then verified eight microRNAs from NGS and seven microRNAs from the literature review using the real-time qPCR method in peripheral mononuclear cells. Ultimately, mir-125a-5p, miR-146a-5p, and mir-221-3p were found to be statistically significant not only in the screening study but also in the real-time qPCR verification studies. miR-146a-5p was observed to have a significant correlation with clinical biochemistry markers, as well as to be a surrogate biomarker for the early detection of lupus nephritis. This study is the first to show that the intracellular biomarker miR-146a-5p may serve as a useful specific biomarker for the detection of lupus nephritis among lupus patients in the future, regardless of serum albumin levels and spot urine protein/creatinine ratio.
Highlights
Demographic data of the study subjectsSystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that often affects women of childbearing age and, while symptoms vary, can be fatal if it reaches a major organ system, such as the central nervous system, heart, lungs, or kidneys; this condition is referred to as lupus nephritis (LN)
We maintained the quotient between the levels from LN and lupus control (LC) within 0.8 to 1.2, which determined only 41 targeted microRNAs (Table 1b)
We enrolled 78 lupus patients, including 56 lupus control (LC, denoting non-LN subjectsSystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients) and 22 LN subjects (LN, lupus nephritis patients) in this study. These patients made up the confirmation test set, which was utilized to evaluate the performance of the LN microRNA biomarker panel developing through the previously mentioned next generation sequencing (NGS) screening set
Summary
Demographic data of the study subjectsSystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that often affects women of childbearing age and, while symptoms vary, can be fatal if it reaches a major organ system, such as the central nervous system, heart, lungs, or kidneys; this condition is referred to as lupus nephritis (LN). LN presents with such symptoms as foamy urine and lower leg edema, as well as other systemic manifestations like oral ulcers, arthralgia or arthritis, lymphadenopathy, and rashes. These symptoms may appear mild and non-specific. The successful detection of LN and early treatment can significantly reduce the risk of kidney failure [1]. Both proper detection and early treatment are vital for effectively managing LN
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
