MiRNA signatures associated with lung involvement in systemic sclerosis (Small RNA-Seq)

There is a pressing need to identify early biomarkers of lung involvement in systemic sclerosis (SSc) to start as soon as possible antifibrotic therapy. We aimed to identify extracellular vesicle-derived microRNAs (EV-miRNAs) that are differentially expressed between SSc patients with and without interstitial lung disease (ILD) and explore their diagnostic value. Small EVs derived from plasma were isolated from 20 well-characterised SSc patients with ILD (SSc-ILD, n=10), without ILD (SSc-no ILD, n=10) and 10 matched healthy subjects (HS). Small RNA sequencing was used to identify sEV-miRNAs associated to SSc-ILD.