Upregulation of KAT2B and ESCO2 gene expression level in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune condition that causes progressive inflammation. It seems that alternations in epigenetic modifications contribute to RA development. The present study aimed to assess the expression pattern of K (lysine) acetyltransferase 1 (KAT1; HAT1) and lysine acetyltransferase 2B (KAT2B; PCAF), and the establishment of sister chromatid cohesion N-acetyltransferase 2 (ESCO2) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from RA patients.

Method and material: In this case-control study, we studied 50 cases with RA in comparison to 50 age- and gender-matched healthy subjects. Separation of PBMCs samples from whole blood, extraction of RNA, and reverse transcription were performed. Gene transcript levels of KAT1, KAT2B, and ESCO2 were determined using SYBR green real-time quantitative PCR.

Results: Our results exhibited a significant upregulation in the expression levels of ESCO2 and KAT2B genes in patients with RA compared to normal individuals (P-value < 0.0001). Similarly, we observed higher expression of KAT1 in the patients' group when compared to the healthy controls, although the difference in expression level failed to show any significant changes (P-value = 0.485). Also, we found a positive correlation between ESCO2 and the level of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in patients.

Conclusion: Collectively, our results suggest that upregulated expression of KAT2B and ESCO2 genes may be correlated to RA development. Further studies with larger sample sizes are required for understanding the potential contribution of these enzymes in the pathology of RA. Key Points • Dysregulated expression level of epigenetics enzymes was observed in PBMCs from RA patients. • The expression of KAT2B was 2.44 times higher in the PBMCs of RA patients than in the healthy subjects. • The expression of ESCO2 was upregulated (2.75 times) in the PBMCs of RA patients compared to the control group. • There was a positive correlation between ESCO2 expression and the ESR level in patients.