Abstract:
Objective To explore the correlation between serum miRNA-24, mechanism target of rapamycin (mTOR) and the frequency of regulatory T cells (Treg) and their subsets in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1DM).
Methods A total of 40 T1DM patients who were treated in the Endocrinology Department of Affiliated Changshu Hospital of Nantong University from January 2020 to January 2022 were selected as T1DM group, and 40 healthy people who underwent physical examination in the hospital during the same period were selected as the control group. CD4+Treg (CD4+CD25hiCD127low) were marked with CD25 and CD127, and Treg cell subsets included effector Treg (eTreg, CD45RA+Treg) and resting Treg (rTreg, CD45RO+Treg) were differentiated by CD45RA and CD45RO. Serum miRNA-24 was detected by qPCR and serum mTOR was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The levels of above indexes were compared between the two groups. Pearson test was used to analyze the correlations between miRNA-24 and mTOR levels and eTreg, rTreg and eTreg/rTreg ratio in T1DM patients.
Results There was no statistically significant difference in the total Treg ratio in the PBMC between T1DM group and control group. Compared with the control group, the proportion of eTreg subset in the T1DM group was lower, the proportion of rTreg subset was higher (P < 0.05), and the eTreg/rTreg ratio in the T1DM group was lower (P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, the serum miRNA-24 level in the T1DM group was lower (P < 0.001), and the mTOR level was higher (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the proportion of total Treg cells, the proportion of Treg subsets, eTreg/rTreg ratio, the levels of miRNA-24 and mTOR between the single-antibody subgroup (n=23) and multi-antibody subgroup (n=17) among T1DM patients. There were statistically difference in the above indicators between the blood glucose controlled well (glycosylated hemoglobin < 7.5%, n=11) and bad (glycosylated hemoglobin≥7.5%, n=29) subgroups among T1DM patients (P < 0.05). MiRNA-24 was positively correlated with eTreg (r=0.40, P=0.01) and eTreg/rTreg ratio (r=0.66, P < 0.001), while was negatively correlated with rTreg (r=-0.69, P < 0.001); mTOR was negatively correlated with eTreg (r=-0.32, P=0.04) and eTreg/rTreg ratio (r=-0.40, P=0.01), while was positively correlated with rTreg (r=0.48, P=0.001).
Conclusion CD4+Treg subsets in PBMC in patients with T1DM change; miRNA-24 and mTOR might be different. MiRNA-24 and mTOR might be correlated with the frequency of Treg cell subsets and eTreg/rTreg ratio, and involve in the regulation of Treg in T1DM patients.