Professional Skills: A Pilot Study and Report on Cross Professional Competencies

The study highlighted the significant role of the long non-coding RNA Xist in contributing to the sex bias observed in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), particularly in female cells. In SLE, lnc-Xist was found to alter the inactivation process of the X chromosome in lymphocytes, leading to variations in ribonucleoproteins. In RA, lnc-Xist overexpression in fibroblast-like synoviocytes and osteoclasts resulted in the upregulation of proinflammatory and proliferative pathways by sequestering miRNAs. The study further demonstrated that knocking down lnc-Xist could replicate the SLE B cell profile and regulate RA-associated cytokine production and cell proliferation, underscoring its pivotal role in these autoimmune diseases.