title: Analysis of microRNAs in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus via Solexa deep sequencing-Control
design: The aim of this study was to identify the microRNAs expressed in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to further examine the differential expression of known microRNAs in SLE patients. We identified novel microRNAs that were differentially expressed between SLE patients and control subjects. We employed high-quality, high-through put Solexa sequencing technology to clone and identify microRNAs in the SLE and control groups. The sequencing data revealed that numerous microRNAs had significantly different expression levels in the SLE and control groups; 212 of these microRNAs exhibited increased expression, and 199 exhibited decreased expression. These data also indicated that only 61 novel microRNAs exhibited significantly different expression levels between the two groups. The experimental data shown that the target gene from SLE group novel microRNA had a close link to the cell metabolic function. We also analyzed the chromosomal locations of the highly expressed microRNAs in the two groups. A comparison of their profiles revealed that most of the transcripts were expressed at similar levels and that the functional classes of the most abundant microRNAs were equally represented on each chromosome.