The role of short and long non-coding RNAS in food allergy pathogenesis

Food allergy, defined as an inappropriate immune response to a harmless food antigen, is a multifactorial disease. As with other allergic diseases, the frequency of food allergy is increasing all over the world. There are studies showing that one of the reasons for this increase is epigenetic mechanisms. The expression pattern of miRNAs and IncRNAs, one of the epigenetic mechanisms, varies according to different cell types and disease conditions. miRNAs and IncRNAs are stable and have the potential to be important biomarkers as they can be detected in different body fluids such as serum, urine and saliva. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the effect of miRNAs and IncRNAs on the development and pathogenesis of food allergy and to determine their potential as a biomarker candidate for food allergy. The expression of miRNA (miR-19a and miR-98) and IncRNA (Inc-MALAT-1 and lnc-GATA3-AS1) in the serum of 26 food allergy patients and 30 healthy controls were detected by real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Serum IL-4, IL-10, IL-13 and TGF-β levels were measured using ELISA. As a result of our study, it was observed that miR-98 was significantly less expressed in children with food allergies compared to healthy children (p<0.05). When the gene expression levels of miR-19a and MALAT1 were compared between children with food allergies and healthy children, there was no difference in gene expression levels (p>0,05). GATA3-AS1 lncRNA could not be detected in serum samples of patients and controls. While serum IL-4 and IL-10 levels were not detectable in the samples, TGF-β levels were found to be significantly higher in healthy children compared to children with food allergies (p<0,05). There was no difference in serum protein levels of IL-13, which is thought to be related to miR-98, in children with food allergies compared to healthy children (p>0,05). In our study, only difference in expression levels of miR-98 was observed between the patients and the healthy group. When evaluated together with the data in the literature, it is thought that miR-98 may be a biomarker candidate for food allergy