TCR-CD3ζ gene expression profile in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and correlation with disease activity

Abstract

ObjectiveTo measure the T-cell receptor-CD3 zeta chain (TCR-CD3ζ) gene expression profile in a cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Patients and methodsA case-control study on 150 consecutive RA patients diagnosed according to 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria and 150 matched healthy controls without a family history of RA or other autoimmune diseases. RA patients with other autoimmune diseases, viral hepatitis B or C, malignancy or hematological disorders were excluded from the study. All participants were subjected to history taking, clinical examination, assessment of disease activity (in RA patients) using Disease Activity Score-28 and Health Assessment Questionnaire, routine laboratory investigations, inflammatory marker levels, serological tests, as well as molecular analysis for TCR-CD3ζ mRNA expression by quantitative real-time PCR. Results TCR-CD3ζ gene expression was significantly lower in RA cases than in controls (P<0.05). Expression of TCR-CD3ζ has shown a significant negative correlation with RA disease duration, rheumatoid factor, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (P<0.05) in RA cases. The level of TCR-CD3ζ also showed a significantly less expression in patients with positive rheumatoid factor. ConclusionOur results demonstrated a lower expression of TCR-CD3ζ in RA patients than in healthy controls. We suggested that CD247 gene downregulation might contribute in the susceptibility to RA and help understanding the pathways responsible for deficient T-cell responses in RA patients.

Identification of key genes and pathways for differential diagnosis between rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis based on systems biology approaches

“…Furthermore, six genes (LCK, CD3D, IL2RB, IL2RG, HLA-DOB, and CD247) shared several significant pathways that may be important in RA occurrence. Among these genes, LCK, CD3D, IL2RG [36], and CD247 [37] had been previously introduced as important genes associated with the development of RA. Therefore, IL2RB and HLA-DOB genes, which are also involved in the PPI network and outcomes of InterPro analysis, were introduced as novel predictive biomarkers.…”