Elevated levels of plasma microRNA-192 in patientswith lupus nephritis

Introduction: Lupus nephritis (LN) is the most commonly occurring complications of systemic lupus erythematosus that leads to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Besides genetic background and environmental factors, epigenetic factors especially microRNAs (miRs) are involved in the attainment of the disease. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the plasma levels of miR-192 and miR-200b in patients with recently diagnosed as LN. Patients and Methods: In this study, 26 patients with LN and 26 healthy individuals were included. The plasma levels of the microRNAs were evaluated and their correlation with disease activity and pathological findings along with their ability to distinguish patients with LN were assessed. Results: Plasma levels of miR-192 were significantly increased in the cases compared to the controls (P<0.001). Circulating miR-192 was not significantly correlated with clinical parameters. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis indicated that circulating plasma miR-192 could discriminate most of the patients with LN from controls with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.95 [95% CI 0.90-1.00, <0.001] with 88% sensitivity and 99% specificity. Conclusion: The results suggested that miR-192 may take part in the pathogenesis of LN. Further studies are needed to confirm the role of circulating miR-192 as a biomarker of LN.