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Advances and Perspectives in Rheumatic Diseases
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Advances and Perspectives in Rheumatic Diseases

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 May 2023) | Viewed by 4598

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Sara Cheleschi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Rheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Senese, Policlinico Le Scotte, 53100 Siena, Italy
Interests: osteoarthritis; rheumatic diseases; cell cultures; microRNA; psoriatic arthritis; rheumatoid arthritis
Dr. Antonella Fioravanti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Retired from Rheumatology Unit of Azienda Ospedaliera Senese, Siena, Italy
2. Center of Biotechnology, Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, College of Science and Technology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA
3. President of OMTh, Levico Terme, Italy
Interests: osteoarthritis; rheumatic diseases; microRNA; chondrocyte cultures; psoriatic arthritis; rheumatoid arthritis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Sara Tenti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Rheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Senese, Policlinico Le Scotte, 53100 Siena, Italy
Interests: osteoarthritis; rheumatic diseases; microRNA; psoriatic arthritis; rheumatoid arthritis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are multifunctional non-coding RNA molecules with 22–25 bases encoded by endogenous genes. MiRNAs regulate the stability and translation of mRNA, inhibit splicing and translation, repress target gene expression, and modulate downstream pathway via full complementary binding with the 30-untranslated region (30-UTR) of target mRNA. They have been associated with the control of important cellular processes such as lipid metabolism, apoptosis, differentiation, and organ development. Importantly, miRNAs have been recently addressed as novel mediators of cell–cell communication being cell secreted and found in many different biological fluids.

In recent years, with the development of molecular biology technology, the important role of miRNA in disease onset and progression has been gradually discovered. Aberrant expression of miRNA has been associated with inflammation, autoimmunity, and degenerative processes.

Over the last decade, miRNA have attracted significant and undiminishing attention as key regulators in the pathogenesis of different rheumatic diseases. Considerable advances have also been made in the application of miRNA as potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for these disorders. The possibility to quantify miRNA in different biological samples can help to improve early-stage diagnosis and to evaluate disease severity and to monitor disease progression. Furthermore, they could represent a useful instrument to predict treatment response and possible therapeutic targets. Despite the very recent evidence, the physiological and pathological potential of miRNA has not yet been fully understood.

For this Special Issue, all studies which help to enrich knowledge on the role of miRNA in rheumatic disease physiopathology and to improve their potentiality as biomarkers and as therapeutic targets will be welcome.

Dr. Sara Cheleschi
Dr. Antonella Fioravanti
Dr. Sara Tenti
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • rheumatic diseases
  • pathogenesis
  • epigenetics
  • microRNA
  • biomarkers

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2858 KiB  
Article
S100A8 and S100A12 Proteins as Biomarkers of High Disease Activity in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis That Can Be Regulated by Epigenetic Drugs
by Leszek Roszkowski, Bożena Jaszczyk, Magdalena Plebańczyk and Marzena Ciechomska
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(1), 710; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24010710 - 31 Dec 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1768
Abstract
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune chronic inflammatory disease that is still not well understood in terms of its pathogenesis and presents diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Monocytes are key players in initiating and maintaining inflammation through the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and S100 [...] Read more.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune chronic inflammatory disease that is still not well understood in terms of its pathogenesis and presents diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Monocytes are key players in initiating and maintaining inflammation through the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and S100 proteins in RA. This study aimed to test a specific DNA methylation inhibitor (RG108) and activator (budesonide) in the regulation of pro-inflammatory mediators—especially the S100 proteins. We also searched for new biomarkers of high disease activity in RA patients. RNA sequencing analysis of healthy controls (HCs) and RA monocytes was performed. Genes such as the S100 family, TNF, and IL-8 were validated by qRT-PCR following DNA-methylation-targeted drug treatment in a monocytic THP-1 cell line. The concentrations of the S100A8, S100A11, and S100A12 proteins in the sera and synovial fluids of RA patients were tested and correlated with clinical parameters. We demonstrated that RA monocytes had significantly increased levels of S100A8, S100A9, S100A11, S100A12, MYD88, JAK3, and IQGAP1 and decreased levels of IL10RA and TGIF1 transcripts. In addition, stimulation of THP-1 cells with budesonide statistically reduced the expression of the S100 family, IL-8, and TNF genes. In contrast, THP-1 cells treated with RG108 had increased levels of the S100 family and TNF genes. We also revealed a significant upregulation of S100A8, S100A11, and S100A12 in RA patients, especially in early RA compared to HC sera. In addition, protein levels of S100A8, S100A11, and S100A12 in RA synovial fluids compared to HC sera were significantly increased. Overall, our data suggest that the S100A8 and S100A12 proteins are strongly elevated during ongoing inflammation, so they could be used as a better biomarker of disease activity than CRP. Interestingly, epigenetic drugs can regulate these S100 proteins, suggesting their potential use in targeting RA inflammation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Perspectives in Rheumatic Diseases)
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18 pages, 3215 KiB  
Article
Exploration of the Effect on Genome-Wide DNA Methylation by miR-143 Knock-Out in Mice Liver
by Xingping Chen, Junyi Luo, Jie Liu, Ting Chen, Jiajie Sun, Yongliang Zhang and Qianyun Xi
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(23), 13075; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222313075 - 03 Dec 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2407
Abstract
MiR-143 play an important role in hepatocellular carcinoma and liver fibrosis via inhibiting hepatoma cell proliferation. DNA methyltransferase 3 alpha (DNMT3a), as a target of miR-143, regulates the development of primary organic solid tumors through DNA methylation mechanisms. However, the [...] Read more.
MiR-143 play an important role in hepatocellular carcinoma and liver fibrosis via inhibiting hepatoma cell proliferation. DNA methyltransferase 3 alpha (DNMT3a), as a target of miR-143, regulates the development of primary organic solid tumors through DNA methylation mechanisms. However, the effect of miR-143 on DNA methylation profiles in liver is unclear. In this study, we used Whole-Genome Bisulfite Sequencing (WGBS) to detect the differentially methylated regions (DMRs), and investigated DMR-related genes and their enriched pathways by miR-143. We found that methylated cytosines increased 0.19% in the miR-143 knock-out (KO) liver fed with high-fat diet (HFD), compared with the wild type (WT). Furthermore, compared with the WT group, the CG methylation patterns of the KO group showed lower CG methylation levels in CG islands (CGIs), promoters and hypermethylation in CGI shores, 5′UTRs, exons, introns, 3′UTRs, and repeat regions. A total of 984 DMRs were identified between the WT and KO groups consisting of 559 hypermethylation and 425 hypomethylation DMRs. Furthermore, DMR-related genes were enriched in metabolism pathways such as carbon metabolism (serine hydroxymethyltransferase 2 (Shmt2), acyl-Coenzyme A dehydrogenase medium chain (Acadm)), arginine and proline metabolism (spermine synthase (Sms), proline dehydrogenase (Prodh2)) and purine metabolism (phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate synthetase 2 (Prps2)). In summary, we are the first to report the change in whole-genome methylation levels by miR-143-null through WGBS in mice liver, and provide an experimental basis for clinical diagnosis and treatment in liver diseases, indicating that miR-143 may be a potential therapeutic target and biomarker for liver damage-associated diseases and hepatocellular carcinoma. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Perspectives in Rheumatic Diseases)
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