The epigenetic determinants for systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis phenotyping and treatment response

Background: Determining the role of epigenetics in systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA) provides an opportunity to explore previously unrecognized disease pathways and new therapeutic targets.

Aim: We aimed to identify the clinical significance of microRNAs (miRNA-26a, miRNA-223) in SJIA.

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on a group of children with SJIA attending to pediatric rheumatology clinic, at Mansoura University Children's Hospital (MUCH) from December 2021 to November 2022. Patient demographics, and clinical, and laboratory data were collected with the measurement of microRNAs by quantitative real-time PCR. The Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, and Spearman correlation tests were used for variable comparison and correlations, besides the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for microRNAs disease activity and treatment non-response discrimination.

Results: Forty patients were included in the study. On comparison of miRNA-26a, and miRNA-223 levels to the clinical, assessment measures, and laboratory features, miRNA-26a was statistically higher in cases with systemic manifestations versus those without. Similarly, it was higher in children who did not fulfill the Wallace criteria for inactive disease and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 70 criteria for treatment response. Meanwhile, miRNA-223 was not statistically different between cases regarding the studied parameters. The best cut-off value for systemic juvenile arthritis disease activity score-10 (sJADAS-10) and the ability of miRNA-26a, and miRNA-223 to discriminate disease activity and treatment non-response were determined by the (ROC) curve.

Conclusion: The significant association of miRNA-26a with SJIA features points out that this molecule may be preferentially assessed in SJIA disease activity and treatment non-response discrimination.