A PhD dissertation in the Department of Life Sciences at the College of Science, Al-Qadisiyah University, entitled “Association of MicroRNA-199a and MicroRNA-21 with NF-κB SNP in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients,” was conducted by researcher Ahmed Shaker Diwan Al-Khalifawi and supervised by Professor Dr. Saif Khouman Alwan.

The dissertation aimed to study the relationship between the gene expression levels of miRNA-199a, miRNA-21, and NF-κB and the levels of certain immunological and inflammatory markers. It also investigated the NF-κB rs4648068 genetic polymorphism to understand its role in the inflammatory response and susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis.

The results showed a significant increase in the levels of the immunological markers RF, Anti-CCP, and ANA, as well as the inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α. IL-1β was found to be elevated, with increased gene expression of miRNA-199a, miRNA-21, and NF-κB in patients compared to healthy individuals.

The study concluded that rheumatoid arthritis is associated with a complex interplay between genetic variation, miRNA expression, and immune and inflammatory dysfunctions, with a correlation between NF-κB polymorphisms and levels of molecular and inflammatory markers. It also underscores the importance of miRNA-199a, miRNA-21, and NF-κB as promising biomarkers for diagnosis, disease prognosis, and severity assessment.