Hua Ji,1,* YaTing Lu,1,* Gui Liu,2 Xiaotong Zhao,1 Murong Xu,1 Mingwei Chen1 

1Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei City, Anhui Province, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Endocrinology, The Second People’s Hospital of Lu’an City, Lu’an City, Anhui Province, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Mingwei Chen, Department of Endocrinology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, No. 218 Jixi Road, Shushan District, Hefei City, Anhui Province, People’s Republic of China, Email chmw1@163.com

Objective: To Study the Correlations of microRNA-155 (miR-155) and microRNA-146a (miR-146a) Expression in Peripheral Blood of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) Patients with Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (DPN), and Explore the Clinical Value of miR-155 and miR-146a in the Diagnosis and Treatment Outcomes of DPN.
Methods: The study included 51 T2DM patients without DPN (T2DM group), 49 T2DM patients with DPN (DPN group), and 50 normal controls (NC group). Quantitative real-time PCR was utilized to determine the expression levels of miR-155 and miR-146a. Clinical features and risk factors for DPN were assessed. Multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis was conducted to confirm whether the expressions of miR-155 and miR-146a could independently predict the risk of DPN. ROC curve analysis evaluated their diagnostic value.
Results: The T2DM group exhibited significantly lower expression levels of miR-155 and miR-146a compared to the NC group (P < 0.05). Moreover, the DPN group exhibited a significantly decreased expression level of miR-155 and miR-146a compared to the T2DM group (P < 0.01). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that higher levels of miR-155 and miR-146a might serve as protective factors against DPN development. ROC curve analysis revealed that miR-155 (sensitivity 91.8%, specificity 37.3%, AUC 0.641,) and miR-146a (sensitivity 57.1%, specificity 84.3%, AUC 0.722) possess a strong ability to discriminate between T2DM and DPN. Their combined use further enhanced the diagnostic potential of DPN (sensitivity 83.7%, specificity 60.8%, AUC 0.775). A multi-index combination can improve DPN diagnostic efficiency.
Conclusion: The decreased expression of miR-155 and miR-146a in the peripheral blood of T2DM patients is closely related to the occurrence of DPN, highlighting their potential as valuable biomarkers for diagnosing and prognosticating DPN.

Keywords: miR-155, miR-146a, diabetic peripheral neuropathy, type 2 diabetes mellitus, biomarkers