Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a prevalent chronic autoimmune disease posing a considerable burden on both individuals and society. Tumor necrosis induced protein 8-like 2 (TIPE2), closely related to PEST-containing nuclear protein (PCNP) expression, is an immune-related protein potentially involved in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. In this study, we aimed to assess differential expressions of TIPE2 and PCNP in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) between active and inactive RA patients.
Relevant studies were selected from Medline, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Only observational studies (irrespective of publication status, language, or blinding), which compared patients in high disease activity, irrespective of the sample size, with patients in low disease activity of RA were evaluated.
Four studies were included with 248 patients, 138 in the active group and 110 in the inactive group. Three studies provided data on TIPE2 expression levels, where 106 patients were divided into the active group and 88 patients were divided into the inactive group. The pooled analysis revealed a statistically significant difference between the two groups (WMD: 5.60; 95% CI: 5.02-6.18). Two studies provided data on PCNP expression levels, where 64 patients were divided into the active group and 44 patients were divided into the inactive group. The pooled analysis revealed a statistically significant difference between the two groups (WMD: 7.76; 95% CI: 3.09-12.43).
The expression levels of TIPE2 and PCNP are significantly increased in PBMCs of active RA patients.