Expression Profile of Noncoding RNAs and mRNA in Children with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) are reported to play crucial roles in many physiological and biological processes. However, knowledge of ncRNAs in children with systemic lupus erythematosus (cSLE) remains limited. Therefore, we investigate the ncRNA expression profile of cSLE. Microarrays were performed to identify changes in ncRNA and mRNA expression between children with SLE and paired healthy children. All samples from patients with SLE were obtained from the Department of Rheumatology of Beijing Children’s Hospital (Beijing, China). All patients with SLE fulfilled at least four of the revised criteria for SLE by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). The control group included healthy volunteers with no history of autoimmune disease or immunosuppressive therapy. Four children first diagnosed with untreated SLE and four ‘control’ children were used for microarray analysis.