Expression pattern of glucocorticoid receptor α gene and associations with clinicolaboratory features in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

BACKGROUND: Glucocorticoid receptor α (GRα) gene is a transcription factor with clinically significant immune-modulating properties in various autoimmune diseases. However, the expression pattern of the GRα gene and associations with clinical features in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is controversial. This study aimed to assess the correlation between the GRα expression and different clinical and laboratory-related parameters in SLE patients. METHODS: A total of 45 women with newly diagnosed SLE and 31 gender and age-matched healthy controls were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. The real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCT) method evaluated the differences in GRα expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from cases and controls. The correlation between the GRα gene expression levels, clinicolaboratory features, and potential prognostic application was also analyzed. RESULTS: Compared to the healthy individuals, the GRα gene expression in newly diagnosed SLE patients who did not receive any treatment was numerically reduced, but this reduction did not achieve statistical significance (P=0.87). No significant correlation was also found with the activity and severity of SLE according to SLEDAI2K (P=0.41). The GRα gene expression showed a negative correlation with CRP (P=0.034) and a positive correlation with lupus anticoagulant (P=0.039) levels in SLE. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis indicated that the GRα expression level might be a predictor biomarker for low CRP and positive lupus anticoagulant in SLE, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study proposed that expression of the GRα in newly diagnosed lupus patients has no statistically significant difference with healthy age and sex-matched controls. Besides, its expression does not correlate with lupus disease activity according to SLEDAI2k. However, further studies in this area are required.