Abstract

Objective: Apelin, an adipocytokine, is up-regulated by insulin and suppresses pancreatic insulin secretion. One of the key microRNAs in insulin resistance caused by obesity, is microRNA-107. MicroRNA-375 is expressed in the pancreatic islet cells. We aimed to explore apelin-13 and microRNA-107 and 375 in obese women with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Materials and Methods: Fifty obese women with newly diagnosed T2D and 50 non-diabetic obese women, as controls, were selected. Quantitative PCR and ELISA were used to measure the expression of microRNA-107 and 375 and Apelin-13 concentration, respectively. The role of apelin-13 was investigated in an in vitro model. Apoptosis was evaluated by flow cytometry. Results: Apelin-13 levels in diabetics were significantly more than controls (p = 0.012). The expressions of microRNA-107 and 375 of diabetic group were increased, in comparison to the control group. There was no correlation between apelin-13 and microRNA-107 and 375 in diabetic and control groups. Significant correlations between apelin-13 and serotonin (p <0.001) and estimated average glucose (p <0.02) and insulin (p <0.03) were only observed in the diabetic group. Conclusion: Serum levels of apelin-13 and circulating microRNA-107 and 375 could be used as biomarkers for diabetes, particularly in obese subjects. However, more study is needed in this field.