Background: Understanding the regulatory interplay of relevant microRNAs (miRNAs) and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in the rejecting allograft will result in a better understanding of the molecular pathophysiology of alloimmune injury.
Methods: One hundred sixty-seven allograft biopsies, with (n = 47) and without (n = 120) central histology for Banff scored acute rejection (AR), were transcriptionally profiled for mRNA and miRNA by whole genome microarrays and multiplexed microfluidic quantitative polymerase chain reaction, respectively. A customized database was curated (GO-Elite) and used to identify AR-specific dysregulated mRNAs and the role of perturbations of their relevant miRNAs targets during AR.
Results: The AR-specific changes in 1035 specific mRNAs were mirrored by AR-specific perturbations in 9 relevant miRNAs as predicted by Go-Elite and were regulated specifically by p53 and forkhead box P3. Infiltrating lymphocytes and the renal tubules drove the miRNA tissue pertubations in rejection, involving message degradation and transcriptional/translational activation. The expression of many of these miRNAs significantly associated with the intensity of the Banff-scored interstitial inflammation and tubulitis.
Conclusions: There is a highly regulated interplay between specific mRNA/miRNAs in allograft rejection that drive both immune-mediated injury and tissue repair during AR.