Exploring MicroRNA Signatures in Pediatric Non-infectious Uveitis: Meta-Analysis and Molecular Profiling of Patient Samples

Purpose To find a distinct non-coding RNA characteristic for idiopathic uveitis in the pediatric population. To explore the autoimmune-related miRNA expression profile in pediatric patients with idiopathic uveitis (IU) and juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated uveitis (JIA-AU) and find a common molecular background for idiopathic uveitis and other autoimmune diseases. Materials and methods The expression levels of miRNAs were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR using serum samples from patients with idiopathic uveitis (n=8), juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated uveitis (n=7), and healthy controls. We selected the most promising miRNAs from the original research papers: miR-16-5p, miR-26a-5p, miR-145-5p, miR-451a as markers for juvenile idiopathic arthritis, miR-23a-3p, miR-29a-3p, miR-140-5p, miR-193a-5p and miR-491-5p for uveitis in the adult population, and miR-125a-5p, miR-146a-5p, miR-155-5p, miR-223-5p, miR-223-3p characteristic for both diseases and confirm their expression changes in serum from children with idiopathic uveitis. We comprehensively reviewed the literature enrolling the papers that met the inclusion criteria (miRNA and non-infectious uveitis/juvenile idiopathic arthritis) and performed target prediction analysis of appoint miRNAs. It additionally confirmed that altered miRNAs target the immunologically involved genes. Results Immunological involved miRNAs such as miR-146a-5p and miR-155-5p show diverse expression levels in different patients as they interact with multiple targets. miR-204-5p is downregulated in both patient groups compared to healthy controls. Conclusion miR-204-5p and miR-155-5p are candidates for molecular markers of autoimmune uveitis. We did not identify the miRNAs specific only to idiopathic uveitis, but for the first time in the pediatric population, we confirmed that this disease entity shares a molecular basis with other autoimmune diseases. Further studies are required to elucidate the molecular interactions among miRNAs, cytokines, and transcription factors within the intricate immune response, particularly in the eye.