Comparison of myxovirus resistance gene 2 expression among adult and juvenile SLE Iraqi patients

Abstract Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that affects multiple systems in the body. The disease may also impact juveniles (jSLE), but are less frequent. SLE is characterized by the excessive production of auto-antibodies, and genetic background that is not fully comprehended. The human Mxyovirus resistance gene (MX2), classified as an immune regulatory gene, has not yet been researched in juvenile-onset-SLE. There are only a few studies on its connection to rheumatic disease in adults. The current study aimed to investigate its expression and its correlation with disease activity in different ages. This study included 50 patients with SLE, 25 adults and 25 juveniles who all met the ACR criteria, and a control group of 30 healthy individuals, Total RNA was obtained by PBMCs from fresh whole blood samples of all participants to detect human (MX2) levels through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and disease activity was assessed using the systemic erythematosus disease activity index score 2000. The human (MX2) gene was overexpressed in all percipients involved, and there were no statistical differences between the studied group in expression rate p=0.76, There was a non-significant p=0.092 weak negative correlation r=-0.351 between the fold of gene expression and the SLEDAI-2k score. The SLEDAI-2k of (jSLE) and (aSLE) indicated a statistically significant difference between the two groups (p=0.04). Understanding the genes linked to SLE is extremely important, as MX2 could potentially serve as a diagnostic marker, and may also lead to further research opportunities.