Altered expression of MicroRNA in synovial fibroblasts and synovial tissue in rheumatoid arthritis

MicroRNAs (miRNA) have recently emerged as a new class of modulators of gene expression. In this study we investigated the expression, regulation, and function of miR‐155 and miR‐146a in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) synovial fibroblasts (RASFs) and RA synovial tissue.

Locked nucleic acid microarray was used to screen for differentially expressed miRNA in RASFs treated with tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα). TaqMan‐based real‐time polymerase chain reaction was applied to measure the levels of miR‐155 and miR‐146a. Enforced overexpression of miR‐155 was used to investigate the function of miR‐155 in RASFs.

Microarray analysis of miRNA expressed in RASFs treated with TNFα revealed a prominent up‐regulation of miR‐155. Constitutive expression of both miR‐155 and miR‐146a was higher in RASFs than in those from patients with osteoarthritis (OA), and expression of miR‐155 could be further induced by TNFα, interleukin‐1β, lipopolysaccharide, poly(I‐C), and bacterial lipoprotein. The expression of miR‐155 in RA synovial tissue was higher than in OA synovial tissue. Enforced expression of miR‐155 in RASFs was found to repress the levels of matrix metalloproteinase 3 (MMP‐3) and reduce the induction of MMPs 3 and 1 by Toll‐like receptor ligands and cytokines. Moreover, compared with monocytes from RA peripheral blood, RA synovial fluid monocytes displayed higher levels of miR‐155.

This study provides the first description of increased expression of miRNA miR‐155 and miR‐146a in RA. Based on these findings, we postulate that the inflammatory milieu may alter miRNA expression profiles in resident cells of the rheumatoid joints. Considering the repressive effect of miR‐155 on the expression of MMPs 3 and 1 in RASFs, we hypothesize that miR‐155 may be involved in modulation of the destructive properties of RASFs.