The Expression And Clinical Significance Of MicroRNA-23b In Plasma Of Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Introduction and aim: The miR-23 b involving in inflammation and immune was implied in several reports.The aim of the present study is to detect plasma miR-23 b expression and to further assess its potential utility as a biomarker of disease activity of patients with rheumatoid arthritis(RA).Methods: Blood samples were collected from 110 patients diagnosed with RA and 49 healthy controls(HC).miR-23 b in plasma was detected by Taq Man?-PCR.The difference of levels of miR-23 b in plasma between RA and HC was analyzed with the Student's T test.The relation between miR-23 b expression and clinical patterns were also evaluated by Spearman.Follow-up data were evaluated by the Wilcoxon matched pairs test.Results: The expression of miR-23 b in plasma of RA patients was significantly higher than that of the healthy controls(P=0.0284).The expression level of miR-23 b in plasma of the RA patients was positively correlated with the laboratory indicator results of inflammatory index and DAS28 and negatively correlated with Hemoglobin(Hb),aspartate transaminase(AST),bilirubin significantly(P<0.05);Further,levels of plasma miR-23 b in patients with appetence were higher than these in patients without that symptom(P<0.05).Similar results could be found in patients with fatigue(P<0.05);levels of plasma miR-23 b in ANA(Anti-nuclear antibody)-positive patients were lower than these in ANA-negative patients(P=0.002).However,there were no significant correlations between miR-23 b in plasma of the RA patients and the anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody(CCP),rheumatoid factor(RF),and so on(P>0.05).And there were no differences between levels of plasma miR-23 b in patients with swollen joints,tender joints,lymph nodes and interstitial lung disease(ILD)and other clinical symptom(P>0.05).Besides,plasma miR-23 b levels of 30 patients after treatment were lower than these of them before treatment(P=0.001);plasma miR-23 b levels in patients with active RA were decreased markedly following clinical improvement with treatment(Wilcoxon matched pairs test,P=0.029);But for the patients who did not get clinical improvement,plasma miR-23 b levels did not change significantly before and after treatment(Wilcoxon matched pairs test,P=0.250).Conclusion: The plasma expression of miR-23 b is abnormal high in RA patients,relates to disease activity indicators and decreases after treatment which suggests that the circulating miR-23 b may be the candidate biomarker of reflecting activity of RA.