Elevated Circulating hsa-miR-106b, hsa-miR-26a, and hsa-miR-29b in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus with Diarrhea-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Background and Aims. Although the differential expression of microRNA (miRNA) genes has been identified in many diseases, little information exists concerning the miRNA expression profile in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (D-IBS). Therefore, the specific expression of miRNAs in diabetes with D-IBS is identified in the study. Materials and Methods. 201 patients with IBS and 220 matched healthy controls were included in the study. Microarray technology and real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis (RT-PCR) were taken to examine the miRNA expression profiles of T2DM patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (D-IBS) compared with patients with T2DM, patients with D-IBS, and control subjects. Results. We have found that 35 miRNAs were differentially expressed in T2DM with D-IBS, in which three representative miRNAs, hsa-miR-106b, hsa-miR-26a, and hsa-miR-29b, were found to be significantly elevated in T2DM with D-IBS by RT-PCR. Conclusions. Our study has indicated that hsa-miR-106b, hsa-miR-26a, and hsa-miR-29b were elevated in T2DM with D-IBS, which may be the potential biomarkers of T2DM with D-IBS. To obtain a better understanding of the biological functions of these miRNAs in T2DM with D-IBS, functional annotation analysis suggested that the MAPK pathway may be responsible for T2DM with D-IBS.