Role of circ_0012856 in modulating molecular pathways of diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), a common complication of diabetes mellitus, involves complex molecular pathways and the ceRNA regulatory network. Integration of diabetes-related circRNA datasets identified circ_0012856 as pivotal via least absolute shrinkage and selection operator and support vector machine recursive feature elimination algorithms. Functional enrichment analyses elucidated its involvement in DPN pathogenesis. In vitro studies showed circ_0012856 regulating EZH2 and STAT3 expressions, inhibiting autophagy, and promoting microglial M1 polarization. In vivo, experiments revealed silencing circ_0012856 alleviating DPN symptoms in diabetic mice. Overall, circ_0012856 acts as a miR-124 sponge, affecting key pathways in DPN progression and providing potential therapeutic targets.