MicroRNAs (
miRNA) have emerged as an important new class of modulators of gene expression. In this study we investigated
miRNA that are differentially expressed in
lupus nephritis. Microarray technology was used to investigate differentially expressed
miRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)-transformed cell lines obtained from
lupus nephritis affected patients and unaffected controls. TaqMan-based stem-loop real-time polymerase chain reaction was used for validation. Microarray analysis of
miRNA expressed in both African American (AA) and European American (EA) derived
lupus nephritis samples revealed 29 and 50 differentially expressed
miRNA, respectively, of 850 tested. There were 18
miRNA that were differentially expressed in both racial groups. When samples from both racial groups and different specimen types were considered, there were 5
primary miRNA that were differentially expressed. We have identified 5
miRNA; hsa-miR-371-5P, hsa-miR-423-5P,
hsa-miR-638, hsa-miR-1224-3P and
hsa-miR-663 that were differentially expressed in
lupus nephritis across different racial groups and all specimen types tested. Hsa-miR-371-5P, hsa-miR-1224-3P and hsa-miR-423-5P, are reported here for the first time to be associated with
lupus nephritis. Our work establishes EBV-transformed B cell lines as a useful model for the discovery of
miRNA as
biomarkers for SLE. Based on these findings, we postulate that these differentially expressed
miRNA may be potential novel
biomarkers for SLE as well as help elucidate pathogenic mechanisms of
lupus nephritis. The investigation of
miRNA profiles in SLE may lead to the discovery and development of novel methods to diagnosis, treat and prevent SLE.