Shou Yin, Hu Li, Zhang Weibo, Gao Yuan, Xu Ping, Zhang Bimeng
Department of Acupuncture-Moxibustion, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200080, China.
Acumox and Tuina Research Section, College of Acumox and Tuina, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2019 Sep 24;2019:7543049. doi: 10.1155/2019/7543049. eCollection 2019.
circRNAs are involved in diabetes mellitus pathogenesis. Electroacupuncture (EA) is an effective therapeutic strategy for diabetes mellitus. However, whether the mechanism of action of EA on diabetes mellitus is related to altered circRNAs is unclear. The aim of this study was to reveal the effect of EA on circRNA expression in plasma exosomes and the underlying signaling pathway in mice with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In total, 10 mice were randomly categorized into a normal group and 20 mice were used for the T2DM model preparation and randomly divided into the model and model + EA groups. Mice in the model + EA group were administered EA treatment. Changes in the fasting blood glucose (FBG) level and islet structure were evaluated. Plasma exosomes were subjected to RNA sequencing, and then bioinformatics analysis and real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) verification were performed. EA treatment reduced the FBG level, preserved the islet structure, and reduced the islet cell apoptotic rate in T2DM mice. After EA treatment, 165 differentially expressed circRNAs were found. GO and KEGG analyses revealed that thyroid hormone signaling was actively regulated by EA. circRNA/miRNA interaction analysis revealed mmu-mir-7092-3p to be closely associated with circINPP4B, suggesting that the phosphatidylinositol signaling pathway may be affected by EA. qPCR confirmed that 12 circRNAs had significant differences. These findings suggested that EA intervention can significantly protect islet function and improve the FBG level in T2DM, possibly via regulation of thyroid hormone and phosphatidylinositol signaling.
环状RNA（circRNAs）参与糖尿病的发病机制。电针（EA）是治疗糖尿病的一种有效策略。然而，EA治疗糖尿病的作用机制是否与环状RNA的改变有关尚不清楚。本研究旨在揭示EA对2型糖尿病（T2DM）小鼠血浆外泌体中circRNA表达的影响及其潜在信号通路。总共10只小鼠被随机分为正常组，20只小鼠用于制备T2DM模型，并随机分为模型组和模型+EA组。对模型+EA组的小鼠进行EA治疗。评估空腹血糖（FBG）水平和胰岛结构的变化。对血浆外泌体进行RNA测序，然后进行生物信息学分析和实时定量PCR（qPCR）验证。EA治疗降低了T2DM小鼠的FBG水平，保留了胰岛结构，并降低了胰岛细胞凋亡率。EA治疗后，发现165个差异表达的circRNAs。基因本体（GO）和京都基因与基因组百科全书（KEGG）分析显示，EA可积极调节甲状腺激素信号通路。circRNA/微小RNA（miRNA）相互作用分析显示，mmu-mir-7092-3p与circINPP4B密切相关，提示磷脂酰肌醇信号通路可能受EA影响。qPCR证实12个circRNAs存在显著差异。这些发现表明，EA干预可能通过调节甲状腺激素和磷脂酰肌醇信号通路，显著保护T2DM小鼠的胰岛功能并改善FBG水平。
