Detection and Functional Evaluation of −262A/T and −188A/G Polymorphisms of SLAM Gene in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

2010 ◽  
Vol 37 (11) ◽  
pp. 2268-2272 ◽  
Author(s):  
YI YOU ◽  
ZHE WANG ◽  
GUO-HONG DENG ◽  
YI LIU ◽  
FEI HAO

Objective.Signaling lymphocytic activation molecule (SLAM) has been related to the pathology of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) through regulation of T cell-dependent humoral immune responses. We investigated the functional associations of the −262A/T and −188A/G polymorphisms of SLAM in Chinese patients with SLE.Methods.Genotyping of −262A/T (rs2295614) and −188A/G (rs2295613) in SLAM was carried out in 248 cases and 278 controls. Promoter activities of haplotypes on the SLAM gene were evaluated with the dual-luciferase reporter system. The mRNA expressions of SLAM on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of SLE patients with different genotypes were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction.Results.Frequencies of −262A allele and −188G allele were significantly higher in SLE patients than in controls. Haplotype analysis and multifactorial logistic regression analysis showed that individuals with the AG/AG haplotype had increased susceptibility to SLE (p = 0.002, OR 1.478, 95% CI 1.152–1.897). In response to PHA stimulation, the SLAM mRNA expression on PBMC of SLE patients was significantly higher in −262A-188G haplotype homozygotes compared with −262A-188G heterozygotes and individuals with other genotypes.Conclusion.Our findings suggest that −262A-188G haplotype in the SLAM gene promoter contributes to the risk of SLE by increasing the expression of SLAM.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Binbin Yang ◽  
Xinwei Huang ◽  
Shuangyan Xu ◽  
Li Li ◽  
Wei Wu ◽  
...  

ObjectiveSystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with complex etiology that is not yet entirely understood. We aimed to elucidate the mechanisms and therapeutic potential of microRNAs (miRNAs) in SLE in a Tibetan population.MethodsPeripheral blood mononuclear cells from SLE patients (n = 5) and healthy controls (n = 5) were used for miRNA–mRNA co-sequencing to detect miRNAs related to immune abnormalities associated with SLE. Luciferase reporter assay was used to identify potential targets of candidate miRNA. The target genes were verified in miRNA-agomir/antagomir transfection assays with multiple cells lines and by expression analysis. The effects of candidate miRNA on monocyte and macrophage activation were evaluated by multiple cytokine profiling. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) formation was analyzed in vitro by cell stimulation with supernatants of monocytes and macrophages transfected with candidate miRNA. The rodent MRL/lpr lupus model was used to evaluate the therapeutic effect of CXCL2Ab on SLE and the regulation effect of immune disorders.ResultsIntegrated miRNA and mRNA expression profiling identified miRNA-4512 as a candidate miRNA involved in the regulation of neutrophil activation and chemokine-related pathways. MiR-4512 expression was significantly reduced in monocytes and macrophages from SLE patients. MiR-4512 suppressed the TLR4 pathway by targeting TLR4 and CXCL2. Decreased monocyte and macrophage miR-4512 levels led to the expression of multiple proinflammatory cytokines in vitro. Supernatants of miR-4512 antagomir-transfected monocytes and macrophages significantly promoted NETs formation (P < 0.05). Blocking of CXCL2 alleviated various pathogenic manifestations in MRL/lpr mice, including kidney damage and expression of immunological markers of SLE.ConclusionsWe here demonstrated the role of miR-4512 in innate immunity regulation in SLE. The effect of miR-4512 involves the regulation of monocytes, macrophages, and NETs formation by direct targeting of TLR4 and CXCL2, indicating the miR-4512-TLR4-CXCL2 axis as a potential novel therapeutic target in SLE.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Shuaihantian Luo ◽  
Ruifang Wu ◽  
Qianwen Li ◽  
Guiying Zhang

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a common autoimmune disease with high incidence in females. The pathogenesis of SLE is complex, and healing SLE has become a serious challenge for clinical treatment. Aberrant expression of miR-301a-3p involves the progressions of multiple diseases, and some studies have indicated that increased miR-301a-3p could induce the inflammatory injury of some organs. However, the role and molecular mechanism of miR-301a-3p in SLE remain unclear. In this study, the miR-301a-3p levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of the patients with SLE and health subjects were measured with qRT-PCR. The ELISA assay was used to investigate the effect of miR-301a-3p on the levels of inflammatory factors in PBMCs, and flow cytometry assays were used to observe the effect of miR-301a-3p on the levels of CD4+ T cells and Th17 cells in PBMCs. Moreover, TargetScan, dual-luciferase reporter assay, and western blot were used to reveal the downstream targets and regulation mechanism of miR-301a-3p in SLE. The results showed that miR-301a-3p was significantly upregulated in PBMCs of the SLE patients, and increased miR-301a-3p could boost the expression of IL-6, IL-17, and INF-γ in PBMCs and promote the differentiation of Th17 cells. It was found that PELI1 was a target of miR-301a-3p, and PELI1 upregulation could effectively reverse the effect of miR-301a-3p on PBMCs. Besides, this study also found that miR-301a-3p could promote the expression of IRAK1 to involve the progression of SLE via targeting PELI1. In conclusion, this study suggests that increased miR-301a-3p serves as a pathogenic factor in SLE to promote IRAK1-mediated differentiation of Th17 cells via targeting PELI1.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Yuan-yuan Qi ◽  
Xin-ran Liu ◽  
Ying-xin He ◽  
Min Zhou ◽  
Xiang-hui Ning ◽  
...  

A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) of Asian ancestry reported that single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TERT (telomerase reverse transcriptase) was associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). TERT has a critical role in maintaining the chromosomal stability and the length of telomere. Given that only a small portion of the genetic heritability of SLE has been explained so far, we aimed to identify novel loci in telomere-related genes responsible for SLE susceptibility in Chinese populations. We performed a comprehensive genetic association analysis of SLE with telomere-related genes. To identify functional significance, we analyzed the publicly available HaploReg v4.1 and RegulomeDB databases. Differential gene expression analysis was also performed using ArrayExpress. A novel signal of PINX1 rs6984094 was identified ( P discovery = 4.13 × 10 − 2 , OR = 0.58 , 95% CI 0.35-0.98) and successfully replicated ( P replication = 5.73 × 10 − 3 , OR = 0.45 , 95% CI 0.26-0.81). Multiple layers of functional analysis suggested that the PINX1 rs6984094 risk T allele exhibited increased nuclear protein binding. We also observed an increased expression of PINX1 mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from SLE patients compared with healthy controls. Overall, we observed a novel genetic association between PINX1 (encodes the PinX1 protein, an inhibitory telomerase enzyme that lengthens telomeres) and SLE susceptibility in Chinese populations.


Lupus ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Zheng ◽  
D Tang ◽  
H Xu ◽  
Y Xu ◽  
W Dai ◽  
...  

Aim The aim of this paper is to explore the expression of 6-methyladenine (6mA) DNA and to elucidate its gene regulation role in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods Twenty SLE patients and 20 normal control healthy individuals (HCs) were included in this study. Genomic DNA was isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells and subsequently underwent 6mA-immunoprecipitation-sequencing (6mA-IP-Seq) after DNA quality control and 6mA precipitation. Bioinformation analysis was applied to the raw data comparing 6mA levels between SLE patients and HCs. Results We identified 5462 hypermethylation and 431 hypomethylation genes in PBMCs of individuals with SLE, which indicated that a high level of 6mA participates in the pathogenesis of SLE. Gene ontology analysis revealed that hypermethylation genes might regulate the inflammatory process, which has been well documented in the pathogenesis of SLE. Conclusion 6mA may be involved in the initial development of SLE, which may lead to its potential use as an early diagnostic marker and therapeutic target.


Lupus ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (11) ◽  
pp. 1337-1343 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Benitez ◽  
K Torralba ◽  
M Ngo ◽  
L M Salto ◽  
K S Choi ◽  
...  

Objective We evaluated the effects of the B-cell activating factor (BAFF)-targeting antibody Belimumab on human nonmemory B-cell pools. Human B-cell pools were identified using surface markers adapted from mouse studies that specifically assessed reductions in immature B cells due to BAFF depletion. Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have high levels of both BAFF and immature B cells. Mechanistic mouse studies provide a framework for understanding human responses to therapies that target B cells. Methods Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated from healthy donors and SLE patients on Belimumab or standard-of-care therapy (SCT). Cells were stained for flow cytometry to identify B-cell subsets based on CD21/CD24. Differences in subset proportions were determined by one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc test. Results Patients treated with Belimumab show alterations in the nonmemory B-cell pool characterized by a decrease in the Transitional 2 (T2) subset ( p = 0.002), and an increase in the proportion of Transitional 1 (T1) cells ( p = 0.005) as compared with healthy donors and SCT patients. The naïve B-cell compartment showed no significant differences between the groups ( p = 0.293). Conclusion Using a translational approach, we show that Belimumab-mediated BAFF depletion reduces the T2 subset in patients, similar to observations in mouse models with BAFF depletion.


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