Decreased expression of miR-150, miR146a and miR424 in type 1 diabetic patients: Association with ongoing islet autoimmunity.

BACKGROUND

Recent studies revealed altered miRNAs profiling in patients with autoimmune diseases, including type 1 diabetes (T1D). Here, we conducted an observational study and examined the expression levels of these five miRNAs (miR-150,miR-146a,miR-424,miR-181a and miR-142-3P) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from T1D patients.

METHODS

PBMCs were obtained from T1D cohorts (n = 78), type 2 diabetes (T2D, n = 46) and healthy control subjects (n = 56). Quantitative analysis of five miRNAs were performed using SYBR quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR). All values were normalized to endogenous control U6. Then, We compared expression level of five miRNAs in PBMCs from T1DM and age-matched healthy controls, and related the miRNAs expression levels to beta-cell function, autoantibodies and glycaemic control in T1D cohort.

RESULTS

We identified decreased miR-150, miR-146a and miR-424 in patients with T1D, which can distinguished from non-diabetic patients and T2D patients (p < 0.05). Furthermore, they were significantly decreased in PBMCs from GADA autoantibody-positive (Ab+) patients versus GADA autoantibody-negative (Ab-) patients. However, there was no correlation between characteristics such as age, sex, diabetes duration, C-peptide, and glycaemic, and the expression level of miRNAs (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study indicated miR-150, miR-146a and miR-424 may be potential biomarkers of T1DM with applications in the clinical setting as well as provided new insights into the molecular mechanisms involved in this disorder.