Prospects for the study of transposons in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases

Abstract

One of the mechanisms for the development of autoimmune diseases is changes in epigenetic regulation, the root causes of which have not yet been established. At the same time, data on the role of transposons as sources of long noncoding ribonucleic acids (RNA) and microRNAs involved in the development of immune pathology have been accumulated. In evolution, transposable elements have become the basis for the emergence of V(D)J recombination and regulation of HLA genes. Pathological transposon activation has been revealed in type 1 diabetes mellitus, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, AicardiGoutieres and Sjgrens syndromes. The influence of exogenous viruses on the development of autoimmune diseases may be due to their interactions with transposons. Transposable elements themselves are able to activate the antiviral immune response, stimulating the hyperproduction of interferon. An assumption about changes in the activation of transposons as drivers of autoimmune pathology was made, which is reflected in the expression of non-coding RNAs, which are key epigenetic factors. The analysis of the transposon-derived microRNA database (MDTE DB) made it possible to identify 13 microRNAs associated with autoimmune diseases: systemic scleroderma (miR-31, miR-609, miR-3162), juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (miR-151), systemic lupus erythematosus (miR-198, miR-342), psoriasis (miR-224, miR-378) and myasthenia gravis (miR-421, miR-551a, miR-612, miR-891b), multiple sclerosis (miR-584 ), which serves as a proof of the proposed hypothesis. Since changes in epigenetic factors under the influence of transposons are reversible and are reflected in the expression of certain non-coding RNAs, targeted therapy using microRNAs and their analogues as tools is a promising direction in the development of specific treatment for autoimmune diseases.