Upregulation of long noncoding RNA TMEVPG1 enhances T helper type 1 cell response in patients with Sjögren syndrome.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA) play key roles in regulating autoimmunity and immunity balance. LncRNA TMEVPG1, which is encoded by a gene located near the Ifn gene, contributes to interferon gamma expression. We investigated the expression of TMEVPG1 in patients with Sjögren syndrome (SS) to determine its role in the pathogenesis of SS. In this study, we detected the relative expression of TMEVPG1 in CD4(+) T cells of 25 SS patients and 25 healthy donors. Moreover, the proportion of Th1 cells and T-bet levels was also analyzed. Furthermore, we explored the correlation between the expression of TMEVPG1 and the level of autoantibodies, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and IgG in SS patients. Our results indicated that the proportion of Th1 cells and the levels of TMEVPG1 and T-bet were increased in SS patients. In addition, the level of expression of TMEVPG1 was correlated with the level of SSA, ESR and IgG. Our data suggest that upregulation of lncRNA TMEVPG1 may be involved in the pathogenesis of Sjögren syndrome.