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Volume 8, Issue 4

Gene expression profiles of Protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor 22, Tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 1 and Interleukin-1 beta in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and healthy controls after severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus-2 infection or vaccination Open Access

Abstract

Recovery from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) probably leads to long-term symptoms, including immune system complications. Recent publications have reported that severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection or, sometimes, vaccination against it may trigger autoimmune responses in vulnerable cohorts.

To investigate the differences in the expression of the Protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor type 22 (PTPN22), Tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 1 (TRAF-1) and Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) genes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and healthy controls following SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination.

Blood samples were collected from 61 patients diagnosed with RA post COVID-19 Rheumatoid arthritis patients after SARS-CoV-2 infection (RAI), and 40 controls (C) who had experienced at least one COVID-19 infection. RNA was extracted and used to prepare cDNA from each sample and was then used to analyse the expression of PTPN22, TRAF-1 and IL-1β using relative gene expression.

The study covered all 61 patients; 17 had been vaccinated without prior COVID-19 infection Rheumatoid arthritis patients after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination (RAV), while 44 were diagnosed with RA after recovery from COVID-19 (RAI). A statistically significant decrease in the gene expression of TRAF-1 was observed in both RAI and (RAV) patients compared with the C group (=0.042). A consistently significant increase in gene expression of IL-1β was observed in both RAI and RAV samples compared with controls. However, the reduction in PTPN22 expression was not statistically significant.

In this study, TRAF-1 was significantly downregulated, but IL-1β was upregulated in patients with RA post either COVID-19 infection or vaccination, while PTPN22 showed a non-significant reduction. The study findings suggest that triggered immune response post SARS-CoV-2 exposure, through infection or vaccination, may influence molecular pathways involved in RA pathogenesis.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) , IL-1β , PTPN22 , rheumatoid arthritis (RA) , TRAF-1 and vaccination
© 2026 The Authors
  • This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
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2026-04-02
2026-04-22

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/content/journal/acmi/10.1099/acmi.0.001046.v4
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Gene expression profiles of Protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor 22, Tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 1 and Interleukin-1 beta in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and healthy controls after severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus-2 infection or vaccination
Access Microbiology 8, 001046.v4 (2026); https://doi.org/10.1099/acmi.0.001046.v4
/content/journal/acmi/10.1099/acmi.0.001046.v4
/content/journal/acmi/10.1099/acmi.0.001046.v4
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