Objective      To study the correlation between the expression level of NLR family

pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3)  inflammasome gene  transcript variant mRNA and the clinical examination indexes of patients with gouty arthritis (GA).       Methods      NLRP3

PYRIN-PAAD-DAPIN domain and a C-terminal caspase recruitment domain (PYCARD) and caspase 1 (CASP1) mRNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was measured by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The expression of NLRP3

PYCARD and CASP1 gene mRNA in PBMCs was compared between the patients with acute gouty arthritis (AGA) (

n

=44)

the patients with non-acute gouty arthritis (NAGA) (

n

=52) and healthy controls (HCs) (

n

=50)

with β-actin as internal control. Routine blood analysis

blood biochemistry

and blood lipid indexes were measured using a routine blood analyzer and a blood biochemistry analyzer to analyze the correlation between the mRNA expression of NLRP3 inflammasome gene transcript variant and each clinical index.       Results      The mRNA expression of NLRP3 was significantly lower in the HCs and the AGA patients than in the NAGA patients (

P

0.05). The mRNA expression of NLRP3-2

NLRP3-3

and NLRP3-4 increased significantly in the patients with AGA and NAGA as compared to the HCs (

P

0.05). The mRNA expression of PYCARD

PYCARD-1

and PYCARD-2 increased significantly in the AGA and NAGA patients as compared to the HCs (

P

0.05). The mRNA expression of CASP1 increased significantly in the AGA patients as compared to the HCs and the NAGA patients (

P

0.05). The mRNA expression of CASP1-6 was significantly lower in the AGA patients as compared to the HCs (

P

0.05). The mRNA expression of CASP1-7 were significantly lower in the NAGA pati

ents compared to the HCs (

P

0.05). The mRNA expression of CASP1-gamma increased significantly in the AGA patients as compared to the HCs and NAGA patients (

P

0.05). There were statistically significant differences of each clinical index between the AGA and NAGA patients and the HCs (

P

0.05). A positive correlation was found between the mRNA expression of NLRP3 inflammasome gene transcript variant and the clinical indexes in the AGA and NAGA patients (

P

0.05)

but not in the HCs (

P

0.05).       Conclusion      The abnormal expression of the NLRP3 inflammasome gene and transcript variant mRNA in GA shows that the gene of NLRP3 inflammasome and its transcript variant may play a regulatory role in the inflammatory reaction. The correlation between the gene of NLRP3 inflammasome and its transcript variant and the clinical examination indexes of GA indicates the potential application in clinical diagnosis and treatment of GA.