Serum MiR-377 and MiR-29a in Type II Diabetic Patients with Diabetic Nephropathy

Aim: The aim of our study is to evaluate the impact of serum miR-377 and miR-29a on the development and pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy in type II diabetic patients.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in Faculty of Medicine, Fayoum University, Fayoum, Egypt, from July 2015 to December 2015.

Methodology: The present study was conducted on 110 subjects: 30 controls, 40 diabetic subjects with microalbuminuria and 40 diabetic subjects with macroalbuminuria. Blood and urine samples were taken from 110 subjects; Urine samples were collected for measurement of urine albumin. Serum was separated for detection of: Transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) by Elisa and miR-377 and miR-29a by qRT-PCR.

Results: There is significant increase in the mean values of serum miR-377 [P<0.001 & P<0.001] and significant decrease in the mean values of serum miR-29a [P<0.001 & P<0.001] in diabetic subjects with macroalbuminuria compared with diabetic subjects with microalbuminuria and healthy control subjects.

Conclusions: Serum MiR-377 is significantly increased and serum MiR-29a is significantly decreased in patients with diabetic nephropathy. Accordingly, these miRNAs have a strong potential to act as biomarkers to diagnose, treat and prognose diabetic nephropathy.