Osteoclast microRNA profiling to capture the erosive factor in rheumatoid arthritis

Background: In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), only a subset of patients develop an irreversible bone destruction. Our aim was to develop a microRNA (miR)-based osteoclast-related signature to predict erosiveness in RA. Results: We identified 5 miRs from PBMC-derived osteoclasts differentially expressed in RNASeq also in qPCR assessment. Conclusion: We found 5 miRNAs differentially refulated in erosive rheumtoid arhtritis compare to no erosve patient. This study could improve the current approach to identify RA subjects at risk of erosions, by adding biomarker signatures based on the profile of miRs in the osteoclasts. Overall design: Blood samples were obtained from 8 patients with erosive and 8 with no erosive RA sex- and age- matched controls. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were differentiated into osteoclasts in 3-week in-vitro cultures and osteoclast samples were sent to be sequenced using multiplex sequencing on a HiSeq (Illumina) instrument (Genome Quebec).