MALAT1 and MEG3 genes expression in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients: a case-control study

Abstract

ABSTRACT Aim of the study This study aims to investigate the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) serum molecular profile among individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Methods In this observational case-control investigation, 120 participants were included and subdivided forming 4 different groups as follows: group І: NAFLD non diabetic individuals, group ІІ: T2DM without NAFLD patients, group III: NAFLD diabetic patients and group IV: healthy control. MALAT1 and MEG3 expression in serum from all groups was measured. Results Expression of MALAT1 was upregulated in NAFLD and diabetic patients (p = 0.037 and 0.033 respectively). The cutoff value was determined for MALAT1 expression in NAFLD and diabetic by the ROC curve and was > 0.54 and > 0.67 respectively. By multivariate analysis, the only reliable indicator for MALAT1 expression in NAFLD and diabetics was determined to be ESR. Furthermore, we found that NAFLD patients showed greater MEG3 expression than those with T2DM (p = 0.033). Conclusion Expression of MALAT1 was upregulated in NAFLD and T2DM indicating that it might be an early diagnostic marker for both diseases and helps in the development of novel therapeutic agents. Moreover, MEG3 expression was higher among NAFLD patients than those NAFLD patients with T2DM, which suggests the feasibility of decreased MEG3 expression could be a viable predictive biomarker for early T2DM detection among NAFLD-diagnosed patients.