Downregulation of miR-24-3p and miR-198 in Newly Diagnosed type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract Introduction: Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a metabolic disorder related to genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. It is characterized by hyperglycaemia, primarily due to insulin resistance. Recent studies have shown that microRNAs have been involved in the regulation of post-transcriptional gene expression mainly by repressing protein production. Dysregulated miRNA in type 2 diabetes interrupts the insulin signalling cascade and multiple physiological processes leading to disease progression. miRNAs are released from cells in circulation and are now known as a new class of biomarkers due to their stable nature. miR-24-3p and miR-198 are associated with several diseases but their role in type 2 diabetes remains unclear. This study aimed to compare miR-24-3p and miR-198 expression levels in newly diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients and Non-T2DM controls. Method: Thirty-five newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic cases and thirty-five Non-T2DM controls were recruited after obtaining due informed consent. Venous blood was obtained under aseptic conditions. Biochemical parameters were analyzed using the autoanalyzer. Expression levels of miR-24-3p and miR-198 were performed using RT-PCR by TaqMan Advanced miRNA assay. miR-16-5p was used as an internal control. Results: The difference between circulating levels of whole blood of miR-24-3p and miR-198 was statistically significant among the study group. miR-24-3p showed a fold change of 0.312 and miR-198 showed a fold change of 0.203. The miRNAs were not correlated with the glycaemic and other clinical parameters. Conclusions: Findings of our study suggests that expression of miR-24-3p and miR-198 are downregulated in newly diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.