OBJECTIVES: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disorder with 
many genetic factors predisposing to disease susceptibility. MicroRNAs are a new 
discovered class of molecules that participate in post-transcriptional 
regulation of genes' expression. MicroRNA-146a was found to be increased in 
synovial fibroblasts, synovial tissue and PBMC from patients with RA. The aim of 
the present study was to reveal if there is any association of miRNA-146a 
variant rs2910164 and the two interleukin (IL) 1 receptor associated kinase 
(IRAK1, a target gene of mir-146a) polymorphisms rs3027898 and rs1059703 with RA 
predisposition.
METHODS: One hundred and thirty-six RA patients and 147 controls were enrolled 
in the study.
RESULTS: Strong statistically significant difference was observed in IRAK1 
rs3027898 A > C polymorphism distribution between RA patients and controls (p = 
0.044), which was higher comparing the distribution of allele A vs. allele C 
between the studied groups (p = 0.017).
CONCLUSION: This is the first study that addresses association of a variant in a 
target of miR-146a, IRAK1 gene, with RA susceptibility. Further studies in other 
ethnic groups of patients could help to understand the extent of the proposed 
association.