Author/Editor		Hočevar, Alojzija; Tomšič, Matija; Pižem, Jože; Bolha, Luka; Sodin-Šemrl, Snežna; Glavač, Damjan
Title		MicroRNA expression in the affected skin of adult patients with IgA vasculitis
Type		članek
Publication year		2018
Volume		str. str.
ISSN		0770-3198 - Clinical rheumatology
Language		eng
Abstract		IgA vasculitis (IgAV) represents a common systemic vasculitis in pediatric and adult population. Our current knowledge of disease pathogenesis is still very limited, without information on miRNAs in IgAV. The aim of our study was to determine the expression of five pre-selected miRNAs (miRNA-146a-5p, miRNA-148-3p, miRNA-155-5p, miRNA-223-3p, and let-7b) in the affected skin of adult IgAV patients. The study included 65 skin samples from consecutive, untreated IgAV patients (61.5% male, median age 67.6 years, range 29%91), diagnosed between October 2014 and September 2016, and 20 samples of normal skin from healthy volunteers. Total RNAwas isolated from tissue sections of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples. Expression of miRNAs was measured using qRT-PCR. To present relative miRNA expression, the [delta, delta] CT method was used. Skin miRNA expression was correlated to clinical characteristics of adult IgAV patients.We found significantly higher levels of miRNA-155- 5p, miRNA-223-3p, and let-7b in the affected skin compared to controls (18.6-fold, 6.4-fold, and 7.9-fold higher respectively). Contrary, the miRNA 148-3p expression was significantly lower (2.2-fold). The expression of the miRNA-146-5p showed near normal levels. Patients with necrotic skin lesions had significantly higher miRNA-223 tissue expression than those with nonnecrotic purpura (p = 0.029). Gastrointestinal tract involvement inversely correlated with the expression of miRNA-155-5p and/ or miRNA-146a-5p in affected skin. Altered expression of miRNA-148b-3p, miRNA-155-5p, miRNA-223-3p, and let-7b was found in vasculitic skin lesions in IgAV. Additionally, we found a positive association between the severity of purpura and skin miRNA-223-3p expression. Aberrantly expressed miRNAs could represent a biomarker in adult IgAV.
Keywords		vasculitis skin lesions microRNAexpression vaskulitis kožne lezije mikroRNA ekspresija