Open Access

ARTICLE

Aberrant DNA methylation of the promoters of JAK2 and SOCS3 in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus

Mahsa Keshavarz-Fathi^1,2,3, Golshid Sanati^3,4,5, Maryam Sadr³, Bahareh Mohebbi³, Vahid Ziaee^6,7, Nima Rezaei^3,5,8

1 School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2 Cancer Immunology Project (CIP), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran
3 Research Center for Immunodeficiencies, Children’s Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
4 Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA
5 Network of Immunity in Infection, Malignancy and Autoimmunity (NIIMA), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran
6 Pediatric Rheumatology Research Group, Rheumatology Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
7 Department of Pediatrics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
8 Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

* Corresponding Author: N. Rezaei,

European Cytokine Network 2021, 32(3), 48-54. https://doi.org/10.1684/ecn.2021.0469

Accepted 28 July 2021;

Abstract

Cytokine dysregulation is one of the important hallmarks of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in both pediatric and adult patients. Owing to the substantial role of Janus kinase (JAK) and suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) in cytokine signaling, we compared the methylation status of the promoter of JAK2 and SOCS3 between patients with JSLE and healthy controls. Methods: Peripheral blood samples were obtained from patients with JSLE and healthy controls. The promoter methylation was assessed by using the bisulfite conversion system and real-time quantitative multiplex methylation-specific PCR (QM-MSP). Results: The methylation assessments were performed on the blood samples of 25 patients with JSLE and 24 healthy controls. The promoter of JAK2 was significantly hypomethylated in patients with JSLE compared to healthy controls. The median relative unmethylation of the promoter of JAK2 was higher in the JSLE group compared to the control group [0.44 (0.32, 0.59) vs. 0.18 (0.12, 0.86), respectively; P-value 0.026]. The promoter of SOCS3 was significantly hypermethylated in patients with JSLE compared to the controls. The median relative unmethylation of the promoter of SOCS3 was lower in the JSLE group compared to the control group [0.52 (0.10, 1.41) vs 1.18 (0.39, 2.19), respectively ; P-value 0.032]. Conclusion: According to the results of our study, hypomethylation of the promoter of JAK2 and hypermethylation of the promoter of SOCS3 associate with JSLE. These alterations are possible mechanisms for activation of the JAK2 and suppression of the SOCS3 gene, respectively.

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