Assessment of MicroRNA Gene Variation (miR-21) in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Background: One of the most common autoimmune diseases is Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). It mostly affects women with genetic susceptibility. It’s characterized by the deposition of autoantibodies causing multisystem dysfunction. One of the most important epigenetic modifications contributing to SLE pathogenesis is microRNAs (miRs). This study assessed the association between microRNA‐21 (miR‐21) genetic variants and SLE. Aim: To assess the frequency of occurrence of SNPs rs1292037 in miR-21 gene in the Egyptian SLE patients compared to healthy normal controls. Subjects & Methods: The study is a case-control, done in Suez Canal University Hospital with a hundred forty-two subjects participating. They were divided into two groups; the study group (71 adult SLE patients) and the control group (71 healthy subjects). Clinical diagnoses were confirmed. A CBC and genotyping of SNP rs1292037 were done on all participants. Results: The study included 63 females and 8 males with SLE with mean age (35.5 ± 11.1) years and median disease duration of 7 years (IQR: 2.0 – 13.0). There is a statistically significant difference in the genotype and allele frequencies between the two study groups (P <0.001), and an association between the occurrence of the risk allele (C) and SLE, (OR= 3.4 and 95% CI (1.7-6.7)), (P <0.001). Conclusion: The genotypes (TC and CC) and the allele (C) are associated with SLE. The role of miR-21 and its SNP may help in gene therapy in the future.