EYES2024 ESE Young Endocrinologists and Scientists (EYES) 2024 Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism (13 abstracts)
1Health Research Institute of Principality of Asturias (ISPA), Oviedo, Asturias, Spain; 2Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine University of Oviedo, Asturias, Spain; 3Department of Endocrinology, Central University Hospital of Asturias, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain
Introduction: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is an autoimmune disease primarily characterized by the destruction of pancreatic beta cells, leading to deficiencies in insulin production. The development of T1DM is attributed to a combination of environmental, immunological, metabolic, and epigenetic factors. The aim of this study is to analyze the expression profile of circulating miRNAs in T1DM patients to establish differences based on the time of diagnosis, whether in adulthood (AD) or childhood (CD).
Methods: To conduct this study, plasma was collected from individuals with T1DM (30 AD>14 years and 30 CD<14 years), as well as from 25 controls. Differentially expressed miRNAs between the groups were selected using NGS sequencing. These results were validated by RT-qPCR and statistically analyzed, along with the demographic data of the participants.
Results: By analyzing the differential expression levels of 7 circulating miRNAs in plasma, statistically significant differences were found in the expression of hsa-miR-340-5p (P = 0.039) and hsa-miR-200a-3p (P = 0.016) in the T1DM group compared to the controls. Otherwise, when stratified the cohort based on diagnosis age, differences were only found in hsa-miR-200a-3p in the CD group vs the control group (P = 0.011). Moreover, correlations between miRNA expression and biochemical and anthropometric parameters were established. A positive correlation was observed between the expression of hsa-miR-224-5p and HDL (P < 0.001), and hsa-miR-200a-3p and HbA1c (P < 0.01). Finally, negative correlations were observed between hsa-miR-224-5p and hsa-miR-200b-3p and weight (P < 0.05) as well as between hsa-miR-340-5p and body fat percentage (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: A differential expression of the studied miRNAs was observed in the cohort, which is associated with biochemical and anthropometric parameters. Future studies are needed to determine their relationship with other comorbidities.