Molecular Signature and miRNA Pattern of CD4 + T Lymphocytes in Plaque Psoriasis

Abstract

Psoriasis is a global health problem affecting approximately 3% of the population. Because this autoimmune and autoinflammatory disease significantly reduces the quality of life and carries the risk of serious complications and comorbidities, all efforts have been directed towards developing effective therapeutic strategies that allow for a significant restoration of immunological homeostasis. To make this possible, basic research is being conducted, among others, to discover the molecular basis responsible for the pathogenic activation of autoreactive lymphocytes. At the same time, microRNAs seem to be very interesting candidates for epigenetic modulation of signaling pathways disturbed in psoriasis, which are themselves also affected in its pathogenesis. Therefore, our narrative review comprehensively summarizes the current knowledge on the molecular signature and miRNA profile that appear characteristic for psoriasis-related CD4 + T lymphocytes and hypothesizes the effects of microRNA dysregulation based on the results of a contextual functional analysis of selected candidates having the greatest impact on the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Detailed considerations allowed us to uncover the most important signaling pathways and microRNA molecules active in pathogenic CD4 + T lymphocytes that are involved in psoriasis progression, and also suggested other microRNAs that appear to have potential therapeutic activity, with the leading opposing roles of interferon regulatory factor 4, microRNA-155 and microRNA-150.