Expression of miR-142 and miR-143 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with autoimmune diabetes

Objective To investigate the microRNA (miRNA) expression level of peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) in autoimmune diabetes mellitus (ADM) which includes type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA), T2DM patients, and matched healthy individuals. Methods Patients of T1DM, LADA, and T2DM were recruited in the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from January 2015 to December 2016. The subjects were divided into two groups. The first group was used for high-throughput screening of differentially expressed microRNAs. The second group was used to validate the expression of miR-142-5p and miR-143-3p by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Results (1)The different miRNA expression patterns of PBMC were found among T1DM patients, LADA patients, T2DM patients, and health individuals. (2)Compared with T2DM patients and healthy controls, LADA and T1DM patients had down-regulated PBMC miR-142-5p expression, and up-regulated miR-143-3p expression. (3)RT-qPCR validation showed that the expression of miR-142-5p in LADA patients was significantly lower than that in T2DM patients (0.30±0.24 vs 1.33±1.29, P<0.05). The expression of miR-143-3p in T1DM and LADA was higher than that in T2DM and health individuals. However, no significant differences were found. Conclusion The miRNA expression patterns are different in the PBMC of T1DM patients, LADA patients, T2DM patients, and healthy individuals; the abnormal expressions of miR-142-5p and miR-143-3p may participate in the development of ADM by affecting apoptosis and immune cell differentiation. Key words: Autoimmune diabetes; Peripheral blood mononuclear cell; microRNA