The Role of Circulating MicroRNA-126 (miR-126): A Novel Biomarker for Screening Prediabetes and Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Recent studies suggested an association of endothelial microRNA-126 (miR-126) with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In the current study, we examined whether circulating miR-126 is associated with T2DM and pre-diabetic syndrome. The study included 82 subjects with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), 75 subjects with impaired fasting glucose (IFG), 160 patients with newly diagnosed T2DM, and 138 healthy individuals. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to examine serum miR-126. Serum miR-126 was significantly lower in IGT/IFG subjects and T2DM patients than in healthy controls (p < 0.05). After six months of treatment (diet control and exercise in IGT/IFG subjects, insulin plus diet control and exercise in T2DM patients), serum miR-126 increased significantly (p < 0.05). An analysis based on serum miR-126 in the sample revealed a significantly higher odds ratio (OR) for the subjects with the lowest 1/3 of serum miR-126 for T2DM (OR: 3.500, 95% confidence interval: 1.901-6.445, p < 0.05) than subjects within the highest 1/3 of serum miR-126. Such an association was still apparent after adjusting for other major risk factors. The area under the curve (AUC) for the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was 0.792 (95% confidence interval: 0.707-0.877, p < 0.001). These results encourage the use of serum miR-126 as a biomarker for pre-diabetes and diabetes mellitus, as well as therapeutic response.