Novel microRNA biomarkers of systemic lupus erythematosus in plasma: miR-124-3p and miR-377-3p

•Circulating miR-124-3p and miR-377-3p may constitute promising biomarkers for the diagnosis of SLE.•The levels of miRNA-124-3p and miRNA-377-3p in PBMCs were significantly upregulated.•miR-377-3p is independently correlated with SLE.•Plasma miR-124-3p is independently associated with the remission rate of SLE.