Abstract 9 — Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Phosphatase Expression in SLE when Compared with Other Connective Tissue Disorders: A Bioinformatic Analysis

Background Sphingolipids are major components of the plasma membrane which are acted upon by various enzymes to generate signaling molecules. The metabolites of the sphingolipid pathway have been identified to play a major regulatory role in various cellular processes. Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is one of the major intermediary molecules of the sphingolipid pathway. Sphingosine-1-phosphate, formed in the cell can be dephosphorylated by S1P-phosphatase (SGPP1 and SGPP2), which is a reversible process. Dysregulation of the sphingolipid pathway has been associated with multiple connective tissue disorders. The current study aimed to assess and compare differential gene expressions of SGPP1 and SGPP2 in patients with SLE when compared with other connective tissue diseases. Methods The current bioinformatics analytic study was conducted using publicly available datasets. Existing datasets from the ADEx: Autoimmune Diseases Explorer Database pertaining to connective tissue disorders were used to explore differentially expressed genes involved in sphingolipid pathways in patients with SLE when compared with other CTD. The differential expression of SGPP1 and SGPP2 genes of the sphingolipid pathway will be identified from datasets. Results The differential expression of SGPP1 and SGPP2 has been identified from the ADEx database. A total of 51 datasets, comprising 17 datasets of RA, 9 datasets of Sjogren Syndrome, 20 datasets of SLE, and 5 datasets of Systemic Sclerosis were used for analysis. An FDR filter of 0.01 was used during the analysis. On analysis, we observed an increased expression of SGPP1 in 2 RA datasets, 1 Sjogren Syndrome, and an increased expression of SGPP2 in 1 Systemic sclerosis dataset. However, in SLE datasets, the SGPP1 and SGPP2 were observed to have decreased expression. Conclusion Our study demonstrates a unique trend of SGPP1 and SGPP1 downregulated in SLE patients when compared with other CTD. This provides additional insight into the widely explored Sphingosine-1-phosphate-related dysregulation in SLE and will enable in devising of novel targeted therapy.