Analysis of serum miRNA profiles in seronegative and seropositive rheumatoid arthritis patients by small RNA sequencing

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a refractory autoimmune disease, affecting about 1% of the world's population. RA is divided into seronegative RA and seropositive RA. In addition to rheumatoid factor and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody, there are no other effective markers to judge seronegative RA and seropositive RA. However, the sensitivity and specificity of protein detection limit the diagnostic accuracy. Therefore, it is urgent to screen new effective diagnostic biomarkers. Serum miRNAs have been identified as reliable biomarkers and therapeutic targets for a variety of human diseases including autoimmune diseases, and the detection of serum miRNA is more sensitive and specific than protein detection. In this study, we revealed the expression profiles of serum miRNAs in seronegative RA patients (A-RA), seropositive RA patients (RA) and healthy controls (HC) by small RNA sequencing, and screened out the differentially expressed miRNAs and their target genes.

类风湿关节炎（Rheumatoid arthritis, RA）是一种难治性自身免疫性疾病，全球约有1%的人群罹患该病。类风湿关节炎可分为血清阴性类风湿关节炎（seronegative RA）与血清阳性类风湿关节炎（seropositive RA）。目前除类风湿因子（rheumatoid factor）和抗环瓜氨酸肽抗体（anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody）外，尚无其他有效标志物可用于鉴别血清阴性与血清阳性类风湿关节炎。但蛋白质检测的灵敏度与特异性限制了诊断精准度，因此亟需筛选新型有效的诊断生物标志物（biomarker）。血清微小RNA（microRNA, miRNA）已被证实为包括自身免疫疾病在内的多种人类疾病的可靠生物标志物与治疗靶点，且血清miRNA检测的灵敏度与特异性均优于蛋白质检测。本研究通过小RNA测序技术，明确了血清阴性类风湿关节炎患者（A-RA）、血清阳性类风湿关节炎患者（RA）以及健康对照（healthy controls, HC）的血清miRNA表达谱，并筛选出差异表达miRNA及其靶基因。