Influence of rs1292037 Genetic Variant on miR-21 Gene Expression in Patients with type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules that play a pivotal role in the central dogma of molecular biology by regulating gene expression. Alterations in the expression pattern of miRNAs are seen to be linked with several human diseases including autoimmune diseases such as pediatric type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the miRNAs coding genes can influence pancreatic development and insulin secretion. We contemplated a relation between miR-21 expression level as well as miR-21 rs1292037 SNP and pediatric T1DM.ResultsThe heterozygous T/C genotype was seen to be more common amongst T1DM patients than amongst controls (OR = 2.74 (1.78-4.27), P<0.0001). The C allele was more frequent in patients than in control subjects (OR = 1.36 (1.03-0.8), P = 0.02). miR-21 expression was seen to be upregulated in patients compared to the controls by more than twofold (p<0.0001). In the study population, miR-21 was found to be significantly upregulated when carrying the T/C genotype. ConclusionsWe report that the miR-21 rs1292037 variant is related to T1DM. Our study also suggests that the miR-21 expression level is upregulated in T1DM patients compared to the control subjects.