A considerable body of evidence supports a role for type-I IFN in the pathogenesis of primary SS (pSS). As plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are a major source of type-I IFN, we investigated their molecular regulation by measuring expression of a large set of miRNAs.
pDCs were isolated from peripheral blood of pSS patients (n = 30) and healthy controls (n = 16) divided into two independent cohorts (discovery and replication). Screening of 758 miRNAs was assessed by an OpenArray quantitative PCR-based technique; replication of a set of identified miRNAs was performed by custom array. Functional annotation of miRNA targets was performed using pathway enrichment. Novel targets of miR-29a and miR-29c were identified using a proteomic approach (stable isotope labelling with amino acids in cell culture).
In the discovery cohort, 20 miRNAs were differentially expressed in pSS pDCs compared with healthy control pDCs. Of these, differential expression of 10 miRNAs was confirmed in the replication cohort. The dysregulated miRNAs were involved in phosphoinositide 3-kinase-Ak strain transforming and mammalian target of rapamycin signalling, as well as regulation of cell death. In addition, a set of novel protein targets of miR-29a and miR-29c were identified, including five targets that were regulated by both miRs.
The dysregulated miRNome in pDCs of patients with pSS is associated with aberrant regulation of processes at the centre of pDC function, including type-I IFN production and cell death. As miR-29a and miR-29c are pro-apoptotic factors and several of the novel targets identified here are regulators of apoptosis, their downregulation in patients with pSS is associated with enhanced pDC survival.