Epigenetic aspects of rheumatoid arthritis: contribution of non-coding RNAs

Since microRNA was discovered in the late 1990s the role of non-coding RNAs in the regulation of cellular processes has been confirmed. Intensive researches have revealed a number of subtypes of non-coding RNA. It has been proved that these molecules can influence each step of the development of cells and tissues. Moreover, researchers have found their expression change during disease development. In this article, we gathered the current results on the contribution of microRNA and long non-coding RNA in rheumatoid arthritis pathogenesis and their potential use in rheumatoid arthritis treatment. Although the present stage of studies on this matter is still very early, many studies have confirmed non-coding RNAs' involvement in rheumatoid arthritis development. We showed ncRNAs changes in various tissues or cell lines of RA in humans or in animal models of RA. We tried to present possible mechanisms causing respective modifications of ncRNAs expression. There are some propositions to use some of them as markers of rheumatoid arthritis. Moreover, very advanced techniques of drug preparation are proposed to influence the microRNA or lncRNA pathways to inhibit inflammation in RA patients. None of them are now at the trial stage, but some are very promising.