Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multifactorial autoimmune disease that afflicts multiple organs, especially kidneys and joints. In addition to genetic predisposition, it is now evident that DNA methylation and microRNAs (miRNAs), the two major epigenetic modifications, are critically involved in the pathogenesis of SLE. DNA methylation regulates promoter accessibility and gene expression at the transcriptional level by adding a methyl group to 5' cytosine within a CpG dinucleotide. Extensive evidence now supports the importance of DNA hypomethylation in SLE etiology. miRNAs are small, non-protein coding RNAs that play a critical role in the regulation of genome expression. Various studies have identified the signature lupus-related miRNAs and their functional contribution to lupus incidence and progression. In this review, the mutual interaction between DNA methylation and miRNAs regulation in SLE is discussed. Some lupus-associated miRNAs regulate DNA methylation status by targeting the DNA methylation enzymes or methylation pathway-related proteins. On the other hand, DNA hyper- and hypo-methylation are linked with dysregulated miRNAs expression in lupus. Further, we specifically discuss the genetic imprinting Dlk1-Dio3 miRNAs that are subjected to DNA methylation regulation and are dysregulated in several autoimmune diseases, including SLE.
Keywords: DNA methylation; Dlk1-Dio3; epigenetics; genomic imprinting; microRNA; systemic lupus erythematosus.