Event Abstract Back to Event Altered expression of miR-146a and miR-155 in Th2 and IgG expressing B cells in the autoimmune disease pemphigus foliaceus Gabriel A. Cipolla1* and Maria Luiza Petzl-Erler1 1 Federal University of Paraná, Department of Genetics, Brazil MicroRNAs are a class of small non-coding RNAs ranging from 18 to 25 nucleotides that regulate gene expression by complementary binding to mRNA sites. MicroRNAs have been increasingly implicated in normal immune function. Pemphigus foliaceus (PF) is a blistering autoimmune skin disease characterized by a Th2-dependet production of pathogenic IgG autoantibodies. We quantified by qRT-PCR six candidate microRNAs (miR-145, miR-146a, miR-148a, miR-155, miR-338-5p, and miR-1321) in three lymphocyte subpopulations (CD4+CD294+ Th2-like, CD4+C25+ T, and IgG expressing B cells [IgG+ B cells]) from six healthy controls, six patients with inactive disease (iPF) and seven patients with active lesions (aPF). In Th2-like cells, miR-146a was 4-fold upregulated in patients with inactive disease compared to patients with active lesions (P=0.014), suggesting that the expression of this microRNA might be negatively related to disease activity. In IgG+ B cells, miR-155 was 2-fold upregulated in patients with inactive disease compared to healthy controls (P=0.009) and exhibited a tendency for upregulation in these patients when compared to those with active lesions (P=0.082), allowing us to hypothesize that this microRNA might have a relevant role in PF remission. Moreover, miR-1321 revealed a tendency of upregulation in Th2-like cells of PF patients (iPF+aPF) compared to healthy controls (P=0.079). Expression of miR-1321 in these cells negatively correlated to that of its predicted target BLYS (BAFF), a B cell stimulator known to be important for PF pathogenesis (iPF, rS=-1.00, P<0.05; aPF, rS=-0.49, ns). In conclusion, miR-146a, miR-155 and miR-1321 arise as potentially new mediators of therapeutic intervention for PF. Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge the following agencies for their financial support: Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), and Fundação Araucária (FA). References Malheiros D, Petzl-Erler ML. Individual and epistatic effects of genetic polymorphisms of B-cell co-stimulatory molecules on susceptibility to pemphigus foliaceus. Genes Immun (2009) 10: 547-58. Keywords: microRNA, miRNA expression, pemphigus foliaceus, T and B lymphocytes, miR-1321 Conference: 15th International Congress of Immunology (ICI), Milan, Italy, 22 Aug - 27 Aug, 2013. Presentation Type: Abstract Topic: Immune-mediated disease pathogenesis Citation: Cipolla GA and Petzl-Erler M (2013). Altered expression of miR-146a and miR-155 in Th2 and IgG expressing B cells in the autoimmune disease pemphigus foliaceus. Front. Immunol. Conference Abstract: 15th International Congress of Immunology (ICI). doi: 10.3389/conf.fimmu.2013.02.00442 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 15 Apr 2013; Published Online: 22 Aug 2013. * Correspondence: Mr. Gabriel A Cipolla, Federal University of Paraná, Department of Genetics, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, gadel.cipolla@gmail.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Gabriel A Cipolla Maria Luiza Petzl-Erler Google Gabriel A Cipolla Maria Luiza Petzl-Erler Google Scholar Gabriel A Cipolla Maria Luiza Petzl-Erler PubMed Gabriel A Cipolla Maria Luiza Petzl-Erler Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.