Transcriptome profiling of microRNAs associated with latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA)

LADA (latent autoimmune diabetes in adults), a special subtype of type 1 diabetes, turns out to exhibit phenotypes mimicking the type 2 diabetes, which results in serious misdiagnosis issues. In order to better distinguish LADA from other diabetes subtypes, specific diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of LADA are required. Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) are recently shown to be promising biomarkers for disease diagnosis and subtyping. In this study, serum samples from LADA patients and type 2 diabetes patients were collected during the first diagnosis of diabetes and the miRNA transcriptomes of these patients and healthy individuals were profiled. Comparative analysis shows that the differentially expressed miRNAs between groups and their predicted target genes are enriched for several functions including immune regulation. Besides, a few miRNAs showing distinct expression pattern in LADA patients could discriminate LADA from type 2 diabetes, as validated by further qRT-PCR assay. In all, our study implies potential miRNA biomarkers which would be investigated in further clinical researches.