Expression of long non-coding RNAs (UCA1 and CCAT2)‎ in the blood of multiple sclerosis patients : a case-control study

Abstract EN

Background : Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune and multifactorial disease, and its pathogenesis is associated with many genetic and environmental factors.

Long Non-coding RNA (lncRNAs) are a group of genes that have recently been identified as predisposing genetic factors for the development of many cancers.

Objectives : This is a case–control study to evaluate the expression of two lncRNAs including Urothelial Carcinoma Associated 1 (UCA1) and Cancer-Associated Transcript 2 (CCAT2) in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) patients compared to healthy control group.

Methods : In this case-control study, the expression of UCA1 and CCAT2 was evaluated in 50RRMSpatients (37 females, 13 males with a mean age of 36.22.9 years) compared to 50 healthy controls (38 females, 12 males with a mean age of 35.32.1), using the TaqMan real-time PCR technique.

This study was conducted during 2017 and 2018 at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Results : There was no significant difference between the overall expression of UCA1 (P = 0.282) and CCAT2 (P = 0.983) among the case and control groups.

However, there was a significant difference in the expression of UCA1 in female patients older than 40 years in comparison with healthy age-matched females (P = 0.013).

In addition, there was a significant correlation between the expression of UCA1 and CCAT2 (P < 0.0001).

Conclusions : These results suggest the synergistic effects of UCA1 and CCAT2 on pathogenic aspects of MS, by affecting cellular signaling pathways such as WNT and NF-kB.