Table 1.
Main findings of the studies on the role of miRNAs377, -126, and -21 in DN.
| miRNA | References | Study Design | Population | Main Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| miRNA 377 | [43] | Cross-sectional study | 70 children and adolescent with T1D from Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolism Pediatric Unit (DEMPU) Children Hospital, Cairo University. Mean age 13.21 ± 3.66 years. -25 without DN -45 with DN |
Serum miRNA377 was significantly higher in patients with DN than in those without DN and it was positively correlated with LDL cholesterol. |
| [46] | Cross-sectional study | 50 patients with T1D compared to 50 healthy controls from Pediatric Diabetes Clinic, of Pediatric Hospital, Ain Shams University. Mean age 13.7 ± 3.3 years. T1D patients were divided in two groups: -group A: 26 normoalbuminuric diabetic patients without nephropathy. -group B: 24 diabetic patients with nephropathy. |
Compared to healthy controls, both patients with and without DN had significantly higher urinary miRNA-377 levels (p ≤ 0.05). In the analyzed diabetic cohort, urinary miR-377 expression was considerably higher in the group B (p ≤ 0.001). | |
| miRNA-126 | [48] | Cross-sectional nested case-control study | 455 patients with T1D. Case subjects (n = 312): patients with ≥1 complications of diabetes; control subjects (n = 143): individuals with no evidence of any complication. | miRNA-126 was negatively linked to each micro-/macrovascular complication that was independently analyzed and with all complications (OR = 0.85, 95% CI 0.75–0.96). |
| [45] | Cross-sectional observational cohort study | -68 young patients with T1D (age 6–18 years) and 79 age- and gender-matched healthy subjects. | Patients with T1D had considerably lower urinary miRNA-126 levels than age- and gender-matched controls. There was a negative correlation between HbA1c mean and miRNA-126 levels. | |
| miRNA-21 | [45] | Cross-sectional observational cohort study |
68 patients with T1D Age 6–18 years, duration of disease >1 year, C-peptide < 0.3 nmol/L, and intensive insulin treatment with either multiple daily insulin injections or continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion for at least 6 months. |
A significant increase in miRNA-21 in plasma (p = 0.008) and urine (p ≤ 0.0001) of patients with T1D was found. A positive correlation between urinary miRNA-21 and CRP (r = 0.298, p = 0.029) was showed. |
| [43] | Cross-sectional study | 70 children and adolescents with T1D. | miRNA-21 was positively correlated with urinary levels of cystatin c (r = 0.6, p = 0.01) and negatively correlated with eGFR using cystatin c (r = −0.6, p = 0.01). |
Abbreviations: T1D: type 1 diabetes; T2D: type 2 diabetes; miRNA: microRNA; DN: Diabetic Nephropathy; ACR: albumin creatinine ratio; HbA1c: Glycosylated hemoglobin; CRP: C-reactive protein; eGFR: Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate.