Associations of miRNA-146a and miRNA-223 with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Their Predictive Values

PURPOSE: To analyze the independent associations of miRNA-146a and miRNA-223 with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and evaluate their predictive values for RA. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 68 RA patients were selected as cases, and meanwhile 68 patients with a traumatic knee condition were selected as controls by matching to the cases according to sex and age at the ratio of 1:1. The independent associations of miRNA-146a and miRNA-223 with RA were identified by binary logistic regression analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate their predictive values for RA. RESULTS: MiRNA-146a and miRNA-223 expression levels in both synovial tissues and serums were statistically higher in cases than in controls, and their expression levels in serums were not statistically different from those in synovial tissues in both cases and controls. The expression levels of miRNA-146a and miRNA-223 in synovial tissues were independently associated with RA, as well as the expression levels of miRNA-146a and miRNA-223 in serums. The area under curve (AUC) of combination of miRNA-146a and miRNA-223 in synovial tissues for the prediction of RA was 0.910 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.863–0.962], and the AUC of combination of miRNA-146a and miRNA-223 in serums was 0.904 (95% CI: 0.851–0.957). Their difference was not statistically significant (P=0.873), but the AUC of combination prediction was statistically higher than those of individual predictions (synovial tissues: 0.910 vs 0.773, P=0.005, 0.910 vs 0.788, P=0.009; serums: 0.904 vs 0.766, P=0.005, 0.904 vs 0.784, P=0.011). CONCLUSION: MiRNA-146a and miRNA-223 in both synovial tissues and serums could be applied in predicting RA, and their combination could elevate the predictive value significantly.