Gene Expression Profile of Post COVID-19 Rheumatoid Arthritis Development- Cross Sectional Study at Basrah, Iraq

Background: Recovering from Covid-19 was not the end of the story. Persistence of symptoms or developing other complications frequently reported. One of the main concerns is the emergence of immune-related disorders like rheumatoid arthritis (RA) Purpose of the research: To ascertain whether SARS-CoV-2 infection and the vaccine against COVID-19 are involved in the development of rheumatoid arthritis. We therefore measured gene expression of PTPN22, TRAF-1 and IL-1β implicated in RA development for people who have recovered from COVID-19 but were diagnosed with RA, or have been vaccinated with one of COVID-19 vaccines. Methods: Blood samples were collected from 61 patients diagnosed with RA post Covid-19 patients RAI, and 40 control (C) experienced at least one Covid-19 infection. RNA was extracted and used to prepare cDNA from each sample and used to analyse the expression of PTPN22, TRAF-1 and IL-1β using relative gene expression. Results: The study covered all 61 patients, 17 had been vaccinated without prior infection with Covid-19 (RAV).  While the 44 that were diagnosed with RA after recovery from Covid-19 (RAI). A  pronounced decrease in gene expression of TRAF-1 in both RAI and RAV patients compared to C group. Consistently significant increase in gene expression of IL-1β in both RAI and RAV samples compared to control. However, the reduction in PTPN22 expression was not statistically significant. Conclusion:  The virus downregulated the relative expression of PTPN22 and TRAF1 and upregulated of IL-1β in RAI patients which may help explain the mechanisms underlying RA development given the critical role of these two genes in autoimmune disease progress.