Expression of Long Non-Coding RNAs (UCA1 and CCAT2) in the Blood of Multiple Sclerosis Patients: A Case - Control Study

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune and multifactorial disease, and its pathogenesis is associated with many genetic and environmental factors. Long Non-coding RNA (lncRNAs) are a group of genes that have recently been identified as predisposing genetic factors for the development of many cancers.

This is a case–control study to evaluate the expression of two lncRNAs including Urothelial Carcinoma Associated 1 (UCA1) and Cancer-Associated Transcript 2 (CCAT2) in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) patients compared to healthy control group.

In this case-control study, the expression of UCA1 and CCAT2 was evaluated in 50 RRMS patients (37 females, 13 males with a mean age of 36.2 ± 2.9 years) compared to 50 healthy controls (38 females, 12 males with a mean age of 35.3 ± 2.1), using the TaqMan real-time PCR technique. This study was conducted during 2017 and 2018 at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

There was no significant difference between the overall expression of UCA1 (P = 0.282) and CCAT2 (P = 0.983) among the case and control groups. However, there was a significant difference in the expression of UCA1 in female patients older than 40 years in comparison with healthy age-matched females (P = 0.013). In addition, there was a significant correlation between the expression of UCA1 and CCAT2 (P < 0.0001).

These results suggest the synergistic effects of UCA1 and CCAT2 on pathogenic aspects of MS, by affecting cellular signaling pathways such as WNT and NF-kB.