Assessment of microRNA profile of kidney biopsies of patients with lupus nephritis

Abstract

Background: The changes in some epigenetic elements such as microRNAs result in aberrant immune responses leading to production and secretion of nephritogenic autoantibodies as the main fundament of lupus nephritis (LN).Objectives: The present study aimed to assess the miRNA profile of kidney biopsies in patients with LN with the purpose of describing the critical role of these elements in LN creation. Patients and Methods:In this case-control single center study 11 patients who suffered LN (as the case group) and 11 patients with normal kidney function who were candidate for nephrectomy due to cancer or cyst (as the control group) were included. Kidney biopsies were taken from all LN and control subjects. RNA was extracted and converted to cDNA, then the cDNA was evaluated using NANODROP and then intra-renal expression of candidate miRNAs were quantified in the two groups. In the present study, four topranked miRNAs, miR-638, miR-146a, miR-198, and miR-731 were selected for qRT-PCR. Results: Consistent with the microarray data, we found no significant difference in the expression of all miRNAs between LN and control groups. Using REST 2009 software, we did not also reveal any difference in expression of four miRNAs studied between the patients with LN and those without LN in both parametric and nonparametric patterns. Conclusions:The expression of miR-638, miR-146a, miR-198, and miR-731 may not be related to occurrence of LN in Iranian population.

MicroRNAs in nephrology; new concepts

“…Accordingly, 66 miRNAs were found differentially expressed (36 upregulated and 30 downregulated) in lupus nephritis (9). In a recent study, in 11 Iranian patients with lupus nephritis (LN), we found, no relationship between intrarenal expression of miRNAs 638,146 a, 198,731 and appearance of disease was existed (10). Expression of specific intrarenal miRNAs is established in glomerulosclerosis (mir-200 a,b), tubulointerstitial nephritis and also diabetic nephropathy (mir-192) (11).…”

MicroRNAs in Lupus Nephritis–Role in Disease Pathogenesis and Clinical Applications

“…The miR profile in kidney biopsy samples from LN patients was first reported in 2009, though this was a small study with only 5 patients with inactive, class II LN [ 58 ]. Since then, a plethora of studies have shown that many miRs are differentially expressed in various renal cells in both human subjects and murine models, with only limited overlap with the miR signature in the systemic circulation [ 49 , 51 , 59 , 60 ]. LN is a heterogeneous disease involving immune-mediated injury to different cell types in the kidney, including mesangial cells and podocytes in the glomeruli, tubulointerstitial cells as well as vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cells, among others.…”