Although it has been proved that the epigenetic modification of DNA and histones is involved in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), there is no study to explore whether the modification of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) in RNA is involved. In this study, the mRNA levels of m6A “writers” (METTL3, MTEEL14, and WTAP), “erasers” (FTO and ALKBH5), and “readers” (YTHDF2) in peripheral blood were determined by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The results demonstrated that the mRNA levels of METTL3, WTAP, FTO, ALKBH5, and YTHDF2 in peripheral blood from SLE patients were significantly decreased. The levels of ALKBH5 mRNA in SLE patients were associated with anti-dsDNA, antinucleosome, rash, and ulceration. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the level of ALKBH5 mRNA in peripheral blood is a risk factor of SLE (). Moreover, our results suggested that there was a positive correlation between m6A“writers” (METTL3 and WTAP), “erasers” (FTO and ALKBH5), and “readers” (YTHDF2) in SLE patients. This study suggests that the mRNA level of ALKBH5 in peripheral blood may be involved in the pathogenesis of SLE.

中文翻译：

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外周血 ALKBH5 减少与系统性红斑狼疮的自身免疫反应标志物相关。

尽管已经证明DNA和组蛋白的表观遗传修饰参与了系统性红斑狼疮（SLE）的发病机制，但尚无研究探讨是否涉及RNA中N6-甲基腺苷（m6A）的修饰。本研究通过定量逆转录聚合酶链反应测定外周血中m6A“writers”（METTL3、MTEEL14和WTAP）、“ erasers ”（FTO和ALKBH5）和“readers”（YTHDF2）的mRNA水平(qRT-PCR)。结果表明METTL3、WTAP、FTO、ALKBH5和SLE患者外周血中YTHDF2显着降低。SLE 患者的ALKBH5 mRNA水平与抗 dsDNA、抗核小体、皮疹和溃疡有关。多因素logistic回归分析显示外周血ALKBH5 mRNA水平是SLE的危险因素。）。此外，我们的结果表明，在 SLE 患者中，m6A“写入者”（ METTL3和WTAP）、“橡皮擦”（ FTO和ALKBH5）和“读取者”（ YTHDF2）之间存在正相关。本研究提示外周血ALKBH5 mRNA水平可能参与了SLE的发病机制。