1197Identification of insulin signaling pathway-related circulating circRNAs as novel biomarkers of type 2 diabetes

Abstract

Abstract Background The underlying molecular mechanism of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and insulin resistance is that abnormalities occur in the complex insulin signaling pathway. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are involved in the development of diseases by regulating gene expression and become promising novel biomarkers for diseases. This study screened and validated the insulin signaling pathway-related circulating circRNAs, which are associated with T2D. Methods Based on circRNA microarray, candidate circRNAs involved in the insulin PI3K/Akt signaling pathway were selected and validated by RT-qPCR. The association between circRNAs and T2D and their clinical significance were further assessed by logistic regression model, correlation analysis and ROC curve in a large cohort. The miRNA targets of validated circRNAs was verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay. Results A total of 370 upregulated circRNAs and 180 downregulated circRNAs were differentially expressed between new T2D cases and controls. hsa_circ_0063425, hsa_circ_0056891 and hsa_circ_0104123 were selected as candidate circRNAs for validation. Low expressed circ_0063425 and hsa_circ_0056891 were independent predictors of T2D, impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and insulin resistance. The two-circRNA panel had a high diagnostic accuracy for discriminating T2D and IFG from healthy controls. miR-19a-3p and miR-1-3p were identified as the miRNA targets of hsa_circ_0063425 and hsa_circ_0056891, respectively. Significantly positive correlations were found between the expression levels of AKT and hsa_circ_0063425, PI3K and hsa_circ_0056891, in the total sample and subgroups stratified by glucose levels. Conclusion hsa_circ_0063425 and hsa_circ_0056891 are valuable circulating biomarkers for early detection of T2D, which may be involved in regulation of PI3K/AKT signaling. Key messages Insulin signaling pathway-related circulating circRNAs was identification as novel biomarkers of type 2 diabetes. Keywords circRNA; type 2 diabetes; insulin signaling; biomarker.