Association of miR-21 gene polymorphisms with cognitive function in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

The genetic variant rs13137 of miR-21 is associated with susceptibility in many diseases. However, the association with cognitive dysfunction (CD) in Chinese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) remains unclear.

Two hundred and thirty SLE patients (Non-CD) and 230 SLE-related CD patients (CD) were recruited. MiR-21 level was calculated by qRT-PCR. The ROC curve was established to evaluate the diagnosibility. The independent risk factors were identified by multivariate logistic regression analysis.

The miR-21 in CD group was obviously increased. Compared to AA carriers, the miR-21 level in carriers of rs13137 AT/TT in CD group were significantly lower than those in Non-CD group. The AUC was 0.9023 with sensitivity of 78.70% and specificity of 90.87%. Comparison of genotype and allele frequencies indicated that SLE patients carrying rs13137 AT/TT genotype had low risk of CD. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the rs13137 polymorphism, education years, and MoCA score were correlated with CD risk.

The miR-21 rs13137 polymorphism was correlated with CD risk in the Chinese population. MiR-21 in rs13137 AT/TT carriers was significantly lower than that of AA genotype and the AT/TT genotype was correlated with low CD risk in SLE patients.