MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in gene regulation of several physiological processes. Alterations in the concentrations of miRNAs may result in cancer and autoimmune diseases. In cells of the immune system, miRNA expression is regulated by several cytokines and this expression is related to the inflammatory process. In the present work we evaluated miR-155 and miR-146a levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).We analysed the expression of miRNAs in PBMC from T2D patients (n=20) and control subjects (n=20) using real-time PCR. The quantity of IL-1β and IL-6 in culture supernatants was measured by ELISA.The basal expression of miR-155 and miR-146a in patients with T2D was decreased compared to control subjects and associated with age, gender and metabolic control but not with the therapeutic treatment used. We found significant correlations between the basal expression of miR-155 and miR-146a with HbA1c, Glucose and BMI, as well as of miR-155 expression stimulated by LPS with the values of TG, HbA1c, Glucose and BMI. Additionally, we detected an altered distribution of miR-155 and miR-146a expression related with HbA1c, glucose and BMI using the analysis of a three dimensional association of variables in the group of T2D patients.Downregulated levels of miR-155 could play an important role in the pathogenesis of T2D due to their relationship with metabolic control.
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