Small-Extracellular-Vesicle-Derived miRNA Profile Identifies miR-483-3p and miR-326 as Regulators in the Pathogenesis of Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS)

Primary antiphospholipid syndrome (PAPS) is a systemic autoimmune disease associated with recurrent thrombosis and/or obstetric morbidity with persistent antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL). Although these antibodies drive endothelial injury and thrombophilia, the underlying molecular mechanism is still unclear. Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) contain miRNAs, key players in intercellular communication. To date, the effects of miRNA-derived sEVs in PAPS are not well understood. We characterised the quantity, cellular origin and miRNA profile of sEVs isolated from thrombotic APS patients (PAPS, n = 50), aPL-carrier patients (aPL, n = 30) and healthy donors (HD, n = 30). We found higher circulating sEVs mainly of activated platelet origin in PAPS and aPL patients compared to HD, that were highly engulfed by HUVECs and monocyte. Through miRNA-sequencing analysis, we identified miR-483-3p to be differentially upregulated in sEVs from patients with PAPS and aPL, and miR-326 to be downregulated only in PAPS sEVs. In vitro studies showed that miR-483-3p overexpression in endothelial cells induced an upregulation of the PI3K-AKT pathway that led to endothelial proliferation/dysfunction. MiR-326 downregulation induced NOTCH pathway activation in monocytes with the upregulation of NFKB1, tissue factor and cytokine production. These results provide evidence that miRNA-derived sEVs contribute to APS pathogenesis by producing endothelial cell proliferation, monocyte activation and adhesion/procoagulant factors.