Differential expression patterns of circulating NEAT1, HOTAIR, and miR-23b in rheumatoid arthritis: Implications for...

This study aimed to investigate the expression of miR-23b and selected long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), including NEAT1 and HOTAIR, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and to examine the relationship between miR-23b and these lncRNAs in the regulation of inflammatory processes.

A total of 100 peripheral blood samples were collected from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (n = 50) and healthy controls (n = 50). Total RNA was isolated from whole blood samples and reverse transcribed into complementary DNA (cDNA). The expression levels of miR-23b and selected lncRNAs were analyzed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Relative gene expression was calculated, and statistical analyses were performed to compare expression levels between groups and to assess correlations among the studied molecular markers.

Significant downregulation of NEAT1 and HOTAIR was observed in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients compared to healthy control subjects (P < 0.001). In RA patients, miR-23b was significantly reduced compared to controls (P < 0.001). NEAT1 or HOTAIR expression did not correlate with disease duration, gender, or disease severity when used as a stratified analysis. In contrast, miR-23b expression was significantly correlated with disease severity, and the downregulation was greatest in severe RA patients (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the correlation analysis confirmed a significant negative association between miR-23b expression and inflammatory activity markers.

The present study demonstrates that NEAT1 and HOTAIR are significantly downregulated in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, highlighting their potential involvement in disease-associated inflammatory dysregulation. This suggests that both NEAT1 and HOTAIR may serve as promising non-invasive indicators for RA.