microRNA in Erosive Hand Osteoarthritis and Psoriatic Arthritis
Condition: Erosive Osteoarthritis; Psoriatic Arthritis
MeSH terms: Arthritis; Osteoarthritis; Arthritis, Psoriatic
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      Erosive osteoarthritis of the hand (EHOA) is a rare subset of HOA that affects mainly
      postmenopausal middle-aged women, featured by prominent signs of inflammation, severe
      progression, and typical radiographic changes of the interphalangeal (IP). It is presently
      debated whether EHOA is an advanced stage of the classical HOA or a separate entity with
      peculiar inflammatory features, which can mimic chronic arthritis such as psoriatic arthritis
      (PsA). PsA is a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory arthropathy, that affects 14.0-22.7% of
      patients with psoriasis. It is a highly heterogeneous disease, whose clinical features often
      vary from peripheral arthritis, to spinal spondylitis, and/or asymmetrical synovitis,
      enthesitis, dactylitis. As no gold-standard diagnostic test for PsA exists, the diagnosis is
      based on different patterns of clinical, radiological and serological markers included in the
      classification criteria for psoriatic arthritis (CASPAR). Some typical features of PsA are
      also observed in other chronic musculoskeletal diseases, as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and
      HOA, determining possible delay of the diagnosis and consequent influence on the successful
      results of the therapies. In particular, the differential diagnosis of PsA and EHOA is very
      challenging, considering that both conditions can be characterized by bone proliferation and
      inflammation processes in the distal IP joints and lack of specific diagnostic biomarkers.

      In the last decade, microRNA (miRNA) are emerged as possible candidate biomarkers in
      different rheumatic diseases. They are a class of small non-coding RNA molecules implicated
      in the direct regulation of the expression of different target genes by repressing or
      inhibiting translation. Mature miRNA are produced inside the cell and exert their function in
      the cytoplasm, but also by being released into the circulation and body fluids, where they
      regulate both physiological and pathological processes. Specific profiles of miRNA have been
      associated with the up-regulation of several inflammatory cytokines or degrading enzymes
      involved in the pathogenesis of PsA or OA. Indeed, miRNA have been detected in human plasma
      and in synovial fluid from patients with PsA and are considered possible diagnostic and
      prognostic biomarkers of this disease; very recently a pattern of circulating miRNAs has been
      studied also in patients with HOA.

      IThe aim of the present study is to test whether miRNA can help to differentiate EHOA from
      PsA. In detail, the investigators evaluate the expression profile of a series of miRNA
      (miR-21, miR-140, miR-146a, miR-155, miR-181a, miR-223, miR-23a, miR-26a and miR-let-7e),
      known to be dysregulated in PsA and OA, in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of
      patients with EHOA and PsA and in comparison to a group of healthy controls (HC).

      Furthermore, the investigators assess the potential correlation between miRNA expression and
      disease activity.
    


Intervention name(s): miRNA
Intervention type(s): Genetic
Intervention description(s): Assessment of miRNA, as potential biomarkers to discriminate erosive hand osteoarthritis from psoriatic arthritis
Observational model: Case-Control
Time perspective: Cross-Sectional
Sampling method: Probability Sample
Study population: 
        The study population included patients with erosive hand osteoarthritis, patients with
        psoriatic arthritis and healthy volunteers