Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Apr 18;17(3):242-251.
doi: 10.4103/1735-5362.343078. eCollection 2022 Jun.

Investigation of the relationship between miR-33a, miR-122, erythrocyte membrane fatty acids profile, and serum lipids with components of metabolic syndrome in type 2 diabetic patients

Fatemeh Masoudi  1 , Mohammad Reza Sharifi  2 , Morteza Pourfarzam  1
Affiliations

Investigation of the relationship between miR-33a, miR-122, erythrocyte membrane fatty acids profile, and serum lipids with components of metabolic syndrome in type 2 diabetic patients

Fatemeh Masoudi et al. Res Pharm Sci. .

Abstract

Background and purpose: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules acting as critical regulators of post-transcriptional gene expression. MiR-33a and miR-122 have a crucial role in cholesterol and lipid metabolism. Therefore, their dysregulation may contribute to metabolic abnormality and their inhibition may be a useful therapeutic strategy. The objective of the present study was to investigate the relationship between miR-33a, miR-122, erythrocyte membrane fatty acids profile, and serum lipids with components of metabolic syndrome in an Iranian population suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Experimental approach: Expression of miR-33a and miR-122 was measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction and erythrocyte membrane fatty acid profiles were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Findings/results: T2DM patients with and without metabolic syndrome had significantly higher miR-33a and miR-122 levels compared to controls. MiRNAs were significantly correlated with saturated fatty acid (SFAs), total SFAs/total polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) ratio, fasting plasma glucose, triacylglycerols, insulin and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance. In addition, there was a significant negative correlation between miR-33a and miR-122 levels and PUFAs, total PUFAs/total SFAs ratio and omega 6 fatty acids.

Conclusion and implications: Considering the roles of miR-33a and miR-122 in cholesterol and lipids metabolism, it may be concluded that the measurement of their expression may be useful as a potential additional biomarker for cardiometabolic derangement in T2DM patients. In addition, these findings may suggest that the inhibition of these miRNAs by anti-miRNA therapies may be explored as a potential therapeutic strategy.

Keywords: Erythrocyte membrane fatty acid profile; Metabolic syndrome; Type 2 diabetes; miR-122; miR-33a.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no conflicts of interest in this study.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Abou-Seif MA, Youssef AA. Evaluation of some biochemical changes in diabetic patients. Clin Chim Acta. 2004;346(2):161–170. DOI: 10.1016/j.cccn.2004.03.030. - PubMed
    1. Taskinen MR. Diabetic dyslipidemia. Atheroscle Suppl. 2002;3(1):47–51. DOI: 10.1016/s1567-5688(01)00006-x. - PubMed
    1. Thrainsdottir IS, Aspelund T, Thorgeirsson G, Hardarson T, Malmberg K, Sigurdsson G, et al. The association between glucose abnormalities and heart failure in the population-based Reykjavik study. Diabetes Care. 2005;28(3):612–616. DOI: 10.2337/diacare.28.3.612. - PubMed
    1. Nielson C, Lange T. Blood glucose and heart failure in nondiabetic patients. Diabetes Care. 2005;28(3):607–611. DOI: 10.2337/diacare.28.3.607. - PubMed
    1. Panagiotakos DB, Georgousopoulou EN, Pitsavos C, Chrysohoou C, Metaxa V, Georgiopoulos GA, et al. Ten-year (2002-2012) cardiovascular disease incidence and all-cause mortality, in urban Greek population: the ATTICA Study. Int Cardiol. 2015;180:178–184. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2014.11.206. - PubMed