BACKGROUND

Exosomes are potential markers for several diseases and health problems. Type 1 diabetes (T1D) has increasingly been reported in children and the world T1D has become the main type of diabetes in children. This study aimed to understand the function of urinary exosomal miRNAs in T1D in children.

METHODS

We collected urinary samples from 30 healthy controls and 30 T1D in children. All exosomes were isolated with a combined centrifugation and were characterized by electron microscopy and western blot. The small RNA sequence was used to detect the urinary exosomal miRNAs, and miRNA markers were validated by real-time quantitative PCR. Two exosome diagnostic miRNAs were confirmed by receiver operating characteristic analyses.

RESULTS

In this study, we found higher urinary exosomal miR-424 and miR-218 expression in T1D in children than in healthy controls. Urinary exosomal miR-424 and miR-218 showed better accuracy for T1D diagnose in children.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that urinary exosomal miR-424 and miR-218 are biomarkers for T1D detection in children; miR-424 and miR-218 may be predictive of T1D prognosis in children.