There microRNA-210 is responsible for the impaired function of red blood cells leading to vascular damage in the type 2 diabetes. this was declared by a team of researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden who studied the cells of both mice and patients with type 2 diabetes to identify which molecular changes in red blood cells could explain these damaging effects.
There Research was published in the scientific journal Diabetes.
MicroRNA-210 molecule: this is its function
Patients with type 2 diabetes are known to have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Over time, type 2 diabetes can damage blood vessels, which could lead to life-threatening complications such as heart attack and stroke. However, the pathological mechanisms underlying cardiovascular injuries in type 2 diabetes are largely unknown and treatments are currently lacking to prevent such injuries.
In recent years, research has shown that red blood cells, whose most important job is to carry oxygen to the body’s organs, become dysfunctional in type 2 diabetes and can act as mediators of vascular complications. In the current study, researchers from the Karolinska Institutet examined cells from patients with type 2 diabetes to find out which molecular changes in red blood cells are involved in the development of cardiovascular disease.
The researchers found that levels of a small molecule, microRNA-210, were significantly reduced in the red blood cells of 36 patients with type 2 diabetes compared to the red blood cells of 32 healthy subjects. Micro-RNAs belong to a group of molecules that act as regulators of vascular function in diabetes and other conditions.
Reduction of microRNA-210 caused alterations in specific vascular protein levels and impaired function of blood vessel endothelial cells. In laboratory experiments, the restoration of microRNA-210 levels in red blood cells prevented the development of vascular lesions via specific molecular changes.
“The results demonstrate a previously unrecognized cause of vascular damage in type 2 diabetes“, he claims Zhichao Zhou, researcher at the Department of Medicine, Solna, Karolinska Institutet, who conducted the study in collaboration with, among others, Professor John Pernow at the same department. “Hopefully, the findings pave the way for new therapies that increase red blood cell microRNA-210 levels and thereby prevent vascular injury in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes mellitus (DM), a very complex and heterogeneous chronic disease, is associated with chronic complications generated by the alteration of the endothelium at all levels of the arterial vascular territory. Micro and macro-vascular complications affect the whole organism; their pathogenetic mechanisms are intricate and involve multiple pathways and risk factors.
The main risk factors are insulin resistance / hyperinsulinemia, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, smoking, obesity / overweight, all of which cause endothelial dysfunction. As a result, vasoconstriction, oxidative stress, subclinical inflammation, vascular calcification and thrombosis appear, essential pathogens in the process of atherogenesis / macroangiopathy and microangiopathy.
People with type 2 diabetes mellitus have a 2-3 times higher cardiovascular risk than people without diabetes. Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in type 2 diabetes. More than 30% of those with type 2 diabetes have cardiovascular disease and more than half die of it, mainly from coronary artery disease. The presence of type 2 diabetes reduces life expectancy by 10-14 years.
The European Society of Cardiology divides cardiovascular disease into: moderate (young patients, with short-term diabetes, no risk factors); high (diabetes duration> 10 years, no organ damage, plus any additional risk factors); very high (patients with established CVD, target organ damage three CVD risk factors: age, hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity or type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) for a duration of 20 years).
The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) believes that diabetes itself carries a high risk. Heart failure is the second most common complication after peripheral obstructive arterial disease. Type 2 diabetes has a 75% greater risk of cardiovascular mortality or hospitalization for heart failure. A multifactorial approach is needed to reduce morbidity and mortality.
In Italy, a joint SIC-SID document has been drawn up which deals with the management of cardiovascular risk in diabetes. It is possible to consult the document at this link or you can find the information you need at the following address:
https://www.siditalia.it/clinica/linee-guida-societari
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