Differential Expression of MiR-18b in PBMC from T1D Patients in Isfahan population

Background: Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is caused by cell-mediated autoimmune attack on pancreatic beta cells. Previous studies highlight the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the pathogenesis of T1D. MiRNAs are small non-coding RNAs involved in the regulation of gene expression post-transcriptionally. In this work, microRNA-18b (miR-18b) was chosen and its differential expression was measured between T1D patients and healthy controls from Isfahan population. Materials and Methods: miR-18b was selected according to bioinformatic studies using miRWalk software. 22 T1D patients and 18 healthy controls from Isfahan population were enrolled in this study. Total RNA of the peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples was extracted. After cDNA synthesis, the expression profile of miR-18b was quantified by means of qPCR method in patients and controls. Finally, the results were statistically analyzed. Results: In this study despite our hypothesis, the expression levels of miR-18b didn’t show any significant difference between T1D patients and healthy controls (p value: 0.145). Conclusion: Due to the results of our experimental analysis, it seems that miR- 18b doesn’t have any association with T1D disease in Isfahan population.