PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Alessia Gallo
AU  - Serena Vella
AU  - Fabio Tuzzolino
AU  - Nicola Cuscino
AU  - Antonella Cecchettini
AU  - Francesco Ferro
AU  - Marta Mosca
AU  - Ilias Alevizos
AU  - Stefano Bombardieri
AU  - Pier Giulio  Conaldi
AU  - Chiara Baldini
TI  - MicroRNA-mediated Regulation of Mucin-type O-glycosylation Pathway: A Putative Mechanism of Salivary Gland Dysfunction in Sjögren Syndrome
AID  - 10.3899/jrheum.180549
DP  - 2019 Mar 01
TA  - The Journal of Rheumatology
PG  - jrheum.180549
4099  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2019/08/08/jrheum.180549.short
4100  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2019/08/08/jrheum.180549.full
AB  - Objective To investigate microRNA (miRNA) that is potentially implicated in primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS)–related salivary hypofunction in labial salivary glands and to study miRNA-mediated mechanisms underlying oral dryness and altered rheology, focusing on the mucin O-glycosylation pathway. Methods We performed miRNA expression profiling in minor salivary gland samples of patients with pSS presenting a different impairment in their unstimulated salivary flow rate. A computational in silico analysis was performed to identify genes and pathways that might be modulated by the deregulated miRNA that we had identified. To confirm in silico analysis, expression levels of genes encoding for glycosyltransferases and glycan-processing enzymes were investigated using Human Glycosylation-RT² Profiler PCR Array. Results Among 754 miRNA analyzed, we identified 126 miRNA that were significantly deregulated in pSS compared to controls, with a trend that was inversely proportional with the impairment of salivary flow rates. An in silico approach pinpointed that several upregulated miRNA in patients with pSS target important genes in the mucin O-glycosylation. We confirmed this prediction by quantitative real-time PCR, highlighting the downregulation of some glycosyltransferase and glycosidase genes in pSS samples compared to controls, such as GALNT1, responsible for mucin-7 glycosylation. Conclusion Collectively, our data suggest that the expression of different predicted miRNA-target genes in the mucin type O-glycan biosynthesis pathway is altered in pSS patients with low salivary flow and that the miRNA expression profile could influence the glycosidase expression levels and consequently the rheology in pSS.