Abstract
BackgroundCell-free microRNAs stably and abundantly exist in body fluids and emerging evidence suggests cell-free microRNAs as novel and non-invasive disease biomarker. Deregulation of miR-29 is involved in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy and insulin resistance thus may be implicated in diabetic vascular complication. Therefore, we investigated the possibility of urinary miR-29 as biomarker for diabetic nephropathy and atherosclerosis in patients with type 2 diabetes.Methods83 patients with type 2 diabetes were enrolled in this study, miR-29a, miR-29b and miR-29c levels in urine supernatant was determined by TaqMan qRT-PCR, and a synthetic cel-miR-39 was added to the urine as a spike-in control before miRNAs extraction. Urinary albumin excretion rate and urine albumin/creatinine ratio, funduscopy and carotid ultrasound were used for evaluation of diabetic vascular complication. The laboratory parameters indicating blood glucose level, renal function and serum lipids were also collected.ResultsPatients with albuminuria (n = 42, age 60.62±12.00yrs) showed significantly higher comorbidity of diabetic retinopathy (p = 0.015) and higher levels of urinary miR-29a (p = 0.035) compared with those with normoalbuminuria (n = 41, age 58.54±14.40yrs). There was no significant difference in urinary miR-29b (p = 0.148) or miR-29c level (p = 0.321) between groups. Urinary albumin excretion rate significantly correlated with urinary miR-29a level (r = 0.286, p = 0.016), while urinary miR-29b significantly correlated with carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) (r = 0.286, p = 0.046).ConclusionUrinary miR-29a correlated with albuminuria while urinary miR-29b correlated with carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) in patients with type 2 diabetes. Therefore, they may have the potential to serve as alternative biomarker for diabetic nephropathy and atherosclerosis in type 2 diabetes.
Highlights
Microvascular and macrovascular complications are the major causes of mortality in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes
We explore the possibility of urinary miR-29 family as biomarker for diabetic nephropathy and atherosclerosis in patients with type 2 diabetes
We found that type 2 diabetes patients with albuminuria have a higher prevalence of diabetic retinopathy compared to those with normoalbuminuria
Summary
Microvascular and macrovascular complications are the major causes of mortality in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Microvascular complications are associated with cardiovascular events in type 2 diabetes, and patients with albuminuria or reduced GFR had nearly two-fold increased risk for cardiovascular events. This phenomenon suggested that similar mechanisms may be involved in the pathogenesis of both micro- and macrovascular disease in type 2 diabetes [2]. Cell-free miRNAs abundantly exist in a variety of body fluids including serum, plasma, urine and saliva; their unique expression patterns are associated with specific physiological or disease condition [7]. Cell-free microRNAs stably and abundantly exist in body fluids and emerging evidence suggests cell-free microRNAs as novel and non-invasive disease biomarker. We investigated the possibility of urinary miR-29 as biomarker for diabetic nephropathy and atherosclerosis in patients with type 2 diabetes
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