An integrated transcriptomics and proteomics approach for identification of altered plasma miRNA and blood proteins as composite biomarker panel in lupus flare

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, heterogeneous, systemic autoimmune disease characterized by autoantibody production, complement activation, and immune complex deposition. It predominantly affects young and middle-aged, child-bearing women. Despite many attempts performed to comprehend the pathogenesis of SLE, there is still a deficiency of adequate knowledge about the precise mechanisms underlying the disease to develop effective therapies for SLE patients. micro-RNAs(miRNAs) have been implicated in the development of SLE by the recent studies. Genetic and environmental factor plays an important role in leading SLE. miRNA dysfunction leads to autoimmunity. miRNA-mediated B cell and T cells lead to SLE pathogenies. Distinct miRNAs are differentially expressed in both SLE mice models and human patients. miRNAs are important targeting molecules modulating susceptibility to SLE. Micro-RNAs are small, non-coding RNAs regulating gene expression at transcriptional and translation levels. They play a crucial role in the development of the immune system and as the regulator of both the innate and adaptive immune systems. Considering this, miRNAs have become an area of interest owing to their contributory role in disease pathogenesis. In SLE, there is an activation of both the innate and adaptive immune systems and specific miRNAs are linked to some key processes involving both. With the new insights about miRNA’s involvement in SLE, studies have determined the differential expression in SLE. Most of the profiling studies have been done on Caucasian an Asian differently expressed miRNA in plasma, serum and urine has been seen in different states of disease in lupus.