Skin and kidney are commonly affected in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with similar molecular mechanisms. Although clinical indicators of renal injury in SLE are fairly uncontroversial, few biomarkers are reliable. The role of Micro-RNAs (micro-RNAs) in lupus nephritis (LN) pathogenesis has been investigated to help in early diagnosis. The aim of work is to evaluate microRNA132 expression in SLE Egyptian patients with and without nephritis and the relation between micro-RNA132 and its long non-coding gene SOX2 in both patients groups. This is a casecontrol study involving 100 SLE patients with and without LN (LN and non-LN groups), and 50 age-and sex-matched healthy controls were carried out to detect micro-RNA132 and SOX2 expression with quantitative Real-Time Polymerase chain reaction methods. The SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI) was assessed. SLEDAI was (2-7) and (4-14) in non-LN and LN respectively.micro-RNA132 expression was significantly increased in patient groups compared to controls (1-1) (P<0.001*) but increased in LN (1.3-7.8) compared to non-LN group (0.5-2.3)(P<0.001*).SOX2 was significantly decreased in patient groups compared to controls (1-1) (P<0.001*) more in LN (0.01-0.14) compared to non-LN group (0.05-0.45) (P<0.001*) There was negative correlation between miRNA132 and SOX2 expression in both patients groups r=-0.677 in non LN, r=--0.756 in LN, (P<0.001*).In conclusion,micro-RNA132 and SOX2 may play a role in SLE activity and helping in the early diagnosis of LN.
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