Clinics ()

Comparisons of serum miRNA expression profiles in patients with diabetic retinopathy and type 2 diabetes mellitus

  • Jianping Ma,
  • Jufang Wang,
  • Yanfen Liu,
  • Changyi Wang,
  • Donghui Duan,
  • Nanjia Lu,
  • Kaiyue Wang,
  • Lu Zhang,
  • Kaibo Gu,
  • Sihan Chen,
  • Tao Zhang,
  • Dingyun You,
  • Liyuan Han

DOI
https://doi.org/10.6061/clinics/2017(02)08
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 72, no. 2
pp. 111 – 115

Abstract

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OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare the expression levels of serum miRNAs in diabetic retinopathy and type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: Serum miRNA expression profiles from diabetic retinopathy cases (type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with diabetic retinopathy) and type 2 diabetes mellitus controls (type 2 diabetes mellitus patients without diabetic retinopathy) were examined by miRNA-specific microarray analysis. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to validate the significantly differentially expressed serum miRNAs from the microarray analysis of 45 diabetic retinopathy cases and 45 age-, sex-, body mass index- and duration-of-diabetes-matched type 2 diabetes mellitus controls. The relative changes in serum miRNA expression levels were analyzed using the 2-ΔΔCt method. RESULTS: A total of 5 diabetic retinopathy cases and 5 type 2 diabetes mellitus controls were included in the miRNA-specific microarray analysis. The serum levels of miR-3939 and miR-1910-3p differed significantly between the two groups in the screening stage; however, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction did not reveal significant differences in miRNA expression for 45 diabetic retinopathy cases and their matched type 2 diabetes mellitus controls. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that miR-3939 and miR-1910-3p may not play important roles in the development of diabetic retinopathy; however, studies with a larger sample size are needed to confirm our findings.

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