Increased RNA editing sites revealed as potential novel biomarkers for diagnosis in primary Sjogren's syndrome

Background: Transcriptome-wide aberrant RNA editing has been shown to contribute to autoimmune diseases, but its extent and significance in primary Sjo center dot gren's syndrome (pSS) are currently poorly understood.Methods: We systematically characterized the global pattern and clinical relevance of RNA editing in pSS by performing large-scale RNA sequencing of minor salivary gland tissues obtained from 439 pSS patients and 130 non-pSS or healthy controls.Findings: Compared with controls, pSS patients displayed increased global RNA-editing levels, which were significantly correlated and clinically relevant to various immune features in pSS. The elevated editing levels were likely explained by significantly increased expression of adenosine deaminase acting on RNA 1 (ADAR1) p150 in pSS, which was associated with disease features. In addition, genome-wide differential RNA editing (DRE) analysis between pSS and non-pSS showed that most (249/284) DRE sites were hyper-edited in pSS, especially the top 10 DRE sites dominated by hyper-edited sites and assigned to nine unique genes involved in the inflammatory response or immune system. Interestingly, among all DRE sites, six RNA editing sites were only detected in pSS and resided in three unique genes (NLRC5, IKZF3 and JAK3). Furthermore, these six specific DRE sites with significant clinical relevance in pSS showed a strong capacity to distinguish between pSS and non-pSS, reflecting powerful diagnostic efficacy and accuracy.Conclusion: These findings reveal the potential role of RNA editing in contributing to the risk of pSS and further highlight the important prognostic value and diagnostic potential of RNA editing in pSS.

Automated summary

By performing large-scale RNA sequencing, it was found that pSS patients had increased global RNA-editing levels, which were clinically relevant to immune features. The increased editing levels were likely explained by increased expression of ADAR1 p150. Differential RNA editing analysis showed that most differential sites were hyper-edited in pSS, including six unique sites only detected in pSS.