Abstract. The present study aimed to assess the expression of growth arrest-specific 5 (GAS5) and microRNA (miR)-21 in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and attempted to explore their association with clinical features. CD4 + T cells were isolated from peripheral blood of healthy donors and SLE patients by magnetic-activated cell sorting. GAS5 and miR-21 expression levels in cluster of differentiation (CD)4 + T cells were measured by reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The results revealed that GAS5 and miR-21 levels were significantly elevated in CD4 + T cells of patients with SLE compared with those in control subjects (P<0.05). Regarding clinical features, SLE patients with ulceration had higher GAS5 expression levels in CD4 + T cells than those without ulceration (P<0.05), and the expression of miR-21 was significantly higher in CD4 + T cells of SLE patients with low levels of complement component 3 (C3) than in those with normal levels of complement C3 (P<0.05).In conclusion, GAS5 and miR-21 in CD4 + T cells may serve as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and monitoring of the progression of SLE. IntroductionSystemic lu pus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystemic, chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease of unknown etiology. It is characterized by various pathogenic autoantibodies and immune complexes as well as damage to multiple organ systems, and the course of SLE is long followed by remission and acute attack. The prevalence varies from 31-70/100,000 individuals in China and from 20-70/100,000 individuals worldwide. It is sex-associated, occurring nine times more often in women than in men, particularly in women of child-bearing age (15-35 years) (1-3). The interaction between certain genetic and environmental factors, including chemical factors, viruses and drugs, damages normal immune tolerance and contributes to SLE. Dysfunctional T cells interact with new antigens constantly, leading to a persistent autoimmune reaction (4,5). Previous studies have confirmed that the abnormal activation and proliferation of self-reactive cluster of differentiation (CD)4 + T lymphocytes have a central role in SLE. CD4 + T cells interact with antigen-specific B cells, to make the latter ones become more effective and produce autoantibodies. In addition, CD4 + T cells produce various cytokines when they are activated, which may engender inflammatory reactions (6,7).Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a class of non-protein-coding RNA with transcripts longer than 200 nucleotides. They have numerous important biological functions through different molecular mechanisms, and are closely associated with a variety of clinical diseases, including tumors, metabolic disease and autoimmune diseases. Growth arrest-specific 5 (GAS5), a non-coding gene that hosts a number of small nucleolar RNAs, has been suggested to have numerous important roles in apoptosis and cell growth inhibition. Previous studies have reported that human GAS5 was upregulated in osteoarthritis (OA) patients (8) and downregulated i...

In this study, we aimed to investigate whether fibrinogen degradation products(FDP)and D-dimer could be used as serological indicators of rheumatoid arthritis(RA) activity, such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), and platelets (PLT).A total of 112 consecutive patients with RA between July 2018 and July 2020 were divided into moderate and high disease activity groups (disease activity score 28(DAS28) > 3.2, n = 60) and low disease activity and remission groups (DAS28≤3.2, n = 52). A total of 50 healthy volunteers were included in the control group, and FDP and D-dimer levels were compared across the three groups. The correlations of FDP and D-dimer levels with ESR, CRP, PLT, and DAS28 were analyzed. Analyses of the receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curves and area under the ROC curve (AUC) of FDP, D-dimer, ESR, CRP, and PLT levels were performed.FDP and D-dimer levels were significantly higher in the high-activity compared to the low-activity and remission (P < .001), and the control (P < .001). No significant differences in FDP and D-dimer were observed between the low-activity and remission and the control (P > .05). FDP and D-dimer levels were positively correlated with ESR, CRP, PLT, and DAS28 (all P < .001). The ROC curves showed that the FDP and D-dimer levels could be used to evaluate the RA activity (all P < .001). The AUC of FDP was significantly larger than that of PLT (P = .047). FDP and D-dimer can be used as supplementary serological indicators to assess RA activity, in addition to ESR, CRP, and PLT.

Observation ECA's treatment effects in Adjuvant arthritis rats and relative mechanisms. The rat model of arthritis was established by subcutaneous injection of 0.2 mL Freund's complete adjuvant. After model success, giving different ECA concentrations (25 mg/kg, 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg) to rats by ig methods and continued to 28 days. Measuring thymus and spleen index; observation histopathological morphology of rat joint by HE and Masson staining, and Inflammatory cells, synovial hyperplasia, oochas score and degree of fibrosis were detected semi quantitatively. The relative gene and protein expressions were measured by RT-PCR and Western blot. Compared with Normal group, Inflammatory cells, synovial hyperplasia, fibrosis and oochas score increased significantly in Model group (P<0.01, respectively); COX-1, COX-2, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-17 mRNA expression were significantly up-regulation (P<0.01); AMPK, Beclin1 and ATG12 mRNA and protein expressions were significantly down-regulation (P<0.01, respectively). Compared with Model group, The inflammatory cells, the degree of fibrosis, the proliferation of synovial tissue and OOCHAS score decreased significantly in Middle and High groups (P<0.01, respectively); Thymus index significantly depressed in Low, Middle and High groups (P<0.01, respectively); spleen index were significantly down-regulation in Middle and High groups (P<0.05 or P<0.01); COX-2, TNF-α and IL-17 mRNA expression was significantly down-regulation (P<0.05), IL-1βand IL-6 mRNA expression were significantly depressed in Middle and High groups (P<0.05 or P<0.01); AMPK, Beclin1, LC3-II, ATG5 and ATG7 mRNA expressions were significantly up-regulation in Middle and High groups (P<0.05 or P<0.01); mTOR gene expression was significantly down-regulation (P<0.05), ATG12 mRNA expression was significantly up-regulation (P<0.01) in High group; AMPK, Beclin1, LC3-II, ATG5 and ATG7 protein expressions were significantly increased in High group (P<0.05 or P<0.01), mTOR protein expression were significantly down-regulation and ATG12 protein expression were significantly up-regulation in Low, Middle and High groups (P<0.05 or P<0.01, respectively). ECA can inhibit the inflammatory response in adjuvant arthritis rats, and its mechanism may be related to promoting autophagy of synovial cells.