miRNA-642a-3p protects ß cells from glucolipotoxicity

Sandra Sofia Pinhanços, João Teixeira de Oliveira, C. Henrique Alves, Cláudia M. Deus, Twan J.J. de Winter, Sofia Viana, Flávio Reis, Jorge Santos, Mijke Buitinga, Françoise Carlotti, Lino Ferreira, Martin Gotthardt, John Jones, Hugo Fernandes*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

The incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is tightly linked to obesity. High levels of circulating glucose and saturated free fatty acids (FFAs), known as glucolipotoxicity (GLT), is implicated in ß cell dysfunction and/or death. This study aims to identify miRNAs capable of protecting ß cells from GLT-induced cell death (GICD). A library of 2,080 human miRNA mimics was transfected in ß cells followed by exposure to GLT. We identified 45 miRNAs capable of protecting ß cells from GICD and selected miR-642a-3p for further studies. RNA-seq revealed that miR-642a-3p restored the expression of ß cell identity genes and modulated pathways associated with cell survival and lipid metabolism. Moreover, we showed that transfection of ß cells with miR-642a-3p protected them from GLT-induced changes in insulin secretion. Compared with the control, hypercaloric-fed mice showed a trend toward decreased expression of GLT-protective miRNAs. Notably, we demonstrated that miR-642a-3p expression was downregulated in human islets isolated from T2DM patients compared with non-diabetic controls. Importantly, in obese patients, the expression of GLT-protective miRNAs in plasma-derived extracellular vesicles was increased in non-diabetic patients. Overall, we have identified a potential dual role for miR-642a-3p as both a biomarker and a facilitator of ß cell survival and function, offering a novel theranostic tool for the management of diabetes and/or obesity.
Original languageEnglish
Article number102498
JournalMolecular Therapy - Nucleic Acids
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 1 Jan 2025

Keywords

  • bariatric surgery
  • diabetes
  • extracellular vesicles
  • glucolipotoxicity
  • microRNAs
  • MT: Non-coding RNAs
  • obesity
  • ß cells

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