THU0179 Mir-382–5p targeting il-33 gene as biomarker to predict subclinical atherosclerosis progression in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis

Background Patients with rheumatoid arthritis(RA) had increased risk of cardiovascular disease(CVD). IL-33, a member of the IL-1 family, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of RA and development of CVD. Yet, plasma IL-33 level was not detectable in most subjects which limits it’s utility as a biomarker for CVD. Meanwhile, microRNAs(miRNAs) targeting IL-33 gene expression might play a role. Objectives To ascertain if dysregulated miRNAs targeting IL-33 gene expression in earlyRA patients were associated with subclinical atherosclerosis progression Methods 73 ERA patients were recruited for this 1 year cohort study. Potential miRNAs binding to IL-33 gene were predicted by miRanda. 10 miRNAs with the highest possibility of targeting functional sites of IL-33 gene were quantified in cell free plasma samples. cel-miR-39 was used as spike-in control. Carotid plaque(CP) was identified using high-resolution ultrasound annually. Plaque progression(PP) was defined as an increased region harbouring plaque. Results CPs were identified in 25 (34%) and 31 (43%) subjects at baseline and month 12 respectively. 16 (22%) subject had plaque progression(PP +group). At baseline, subjects in PP +group were older, with lower pain and patient global scores, a higher proportion on conventional synthetic DMARDs, and higher cardiovascular risk compared to patients without plaque progression (PP-) (table 1). Plasma level of miR-382–5 p in the PP +group was significantly higher than that in the PP- group after adjusting for baseline difference (table 1). Using multivariate logistic regression, miRNA-382–5 p was an independent predictor for plaque progression(OR:2.534, 95%CI=1.079–5.952, p=0.033) after adjustment of baseline characteristics. [AUC:0.66,95% CI:0.51–0.81,p=0.048]. Other independent predictor included higher baseline Framingham risk score, diastolic BP and lower pain score. Conclusions miR-382–5 p was an independent predictor for progression of subclinical atherosclerosis and may serve as a novel biomarker for cardiovascular risk assessment in ERA patients. Acknowledgements Acknowledgement to Hong Kong Society of Rheumatology Project Fund for supporting this project. Disclosure of Interest None declared