Differential expression and correlation analysis of whole transcriptome for type 2 diabetes mellitus

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic metabolic disease that accounts for 90% or more of all diabetes cases and contributes to the global public health burden. The pathogenesis of T2DM is extremely complex, and increasing evidence suggests that non-coding RNA (ncRNA) is an important molecule involved in the regulation of T2DM. However, there are still many unknown lncRNAs and circRNAs that need further exploration. This study aims to explore new lncRNAs and circRNAs and their potential biological functions in T2DM.

This study utilized high-throughput whole-transcriptome RNA sequencing technology to sequence and analyze five whole blood samples from each group, identifying differentially expressed mRNAs, lncRNAs, circRNAs, and miRNAs between the T2DM group and the control group. The biological functions of the differentially expressed RNAs were analyzed using Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis. Subsequent association analysis was performed based on the screened differentially expressed mRNA, lncRNA, circRNA, and miRNA to construct a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network.

Differential expression results showed that 411 mRNAs were differentially expressed, 500 lncRNAs were differentially expressed, 356 circRNAs were differentially expressed, and 67 miRNAs were differentially expressed in patients with T2DM compared to controls. Functional analysis showed that cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, graft-versus-host disease, inflammatory bowel disease, Lipid and atherosclerosis, sphingolipid signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, and FOXO signaling pathway, etc. play important roles in T2DM. The gene list was enriched with terms such as immune response, 1-phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase activity, oxidoreductase activity, action on the CH-NH2 donor group, interleukin-18 receptor activity, and antimicrobial peptide biosynthesis process, suggesting potential relevance to T2DM. In addition, six circRNAs and six lncRNAs were identified, which can compete with miRNA as ceRNA in the co-expression network.

Differentially expressed circRNAs and lncRNAs may play a crucial role in T2DM. The ceRNA regulatory network provides new insights into T2DM.