Expression Signature of Immune-Related MicroRNAs in Autoimmune Skin Disease: Psoriasis and Vitiligo Insights

Abstract

Background: Psoriasis and vitiligo are both chronic, skin-specific diseases classified as autoimmune diseases due to the involvement of several biochemical pathways in their pathogenesis, similar to those altered in other autoimmune diseases. The role of miRNAs in regulating skin autoimmune function has yet to be fully characterized. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the expression profile of a panel of 11 circulating immune-related miRNAs in patients with autoimmune skin diseases, specifically psoriasis and vitiligo, and correlate their expression signature with the clinicopathological features of the diseases. Subjects and Methods: Relative gene expression quantification for 11 immune-related circulating miRNAs in plasma was done for 300 subjects—100 patients with psoriasis, 100 patients with vitiligo and 100 normal healthy volunteers—followed by different modalities of bioinformatics analysis for the results. Results: The expression levels of all the studied immune-related miRNAs were elevated in both autoimmune skin disorders, with much higher levels of expression in psoriasis than in vitiligo patients. There was a significant correlation between most of the studied miRNAs, suggesting shared target genes and/or pathways. Moreover, all the studied miRNAs showed significant results as biomarkers for autoimmune skin disease, with miRNA-145 being the best candidate. Regarding the clinicopathological data, miRNA-7, miRNA-9, miRNA-145, miRNA-148a, and miRNA-148b were positively correlated with age. All the miRNAs were inversely correlated with obesity and disease duration. Conclusion: This study highlights the critical role of miRNAs in skin-specific autoimmune diseases that proved to be potential biomarkers for autoimmune skin disorders, warranting their exploration as therapeutic targets.