[Alterations in gene expression profiles in children with Type 2 diabetes mellitus and its mechanisms]

To explore the mechanisms for Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in children and provide genomic evidence for its early diagnosis and treatment.
 Methods: The peripheral blood gene chip datasets from 12 children with T2DM and 24 healthy children were retrieved from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) at National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). The differentially expressed genes were screened by R language software. GenCLiP 2.0, STRING, and Cytoscape software were used to analyze the biological functions, protein-protein interaction network, signal pathway, gene-pathway network, expression of key genes, and predictive value between the two differentially expressed genes.
 Results: A total of 79 differentially expressed genes were identified. Among them, 58 (73.42%) were up-regulated, and 21 (26.58%) were down-regulated. Differentially expressed genes mainly involved molecular functions and biological processes, such as defensive response, response to external stimulus, and inflammatory responses. At the same time, they were mainly involved in the Leishmaniasis, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway. interleukin 1β (IL-1β), jun proto-oncogene (JUN), and IL-8 were 3 important linking nodes in the protein-protein interaction network. JUN and IL-1β were key genes, which were related to interleukin 17 (1L-17) signaling pathway, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway and so on. The expression of JUN gene in peripheral blood of children with T2DM was decreased while the expression of IL-1β gene was increased. JUN and IL-1β genes possessed certain diagnostic and predictive value in children with T2DM.
 Conclusion: The gene expression profile of peripheral blood in children with T2DM changes significantly. The genes of JUN and IL-1β are closely related to T2DM in children. IL-1β gene expression level shows a better predictive value on T2DM in children.