miR?802?5p is a key regulator in diabetic kidney disease

Diabetic kidney disease has substantial burden and limited therapeutic options. An inadequate understanding of the complex gene regulatory circuits underlying this disorder contributes to the insufficiency of current treatment strategies. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a crucial role as regulators of functionally related gene networks. Previously, mmu-mir-802-5p was identified as the sole dysregulated miRNA in both the kidney cortex and medulla of diabetic mice. This study aims to investigate the role of miR-802-5p in diabetic kidney disease.

The validated and predicted targets of miR-802-5p were identified using miRTarBase and TargetScan databases, respectively. The functional role of this miRNA was inferred using gene ontology enrichment analysis. The expression of miR-802-5p and its selected targets were assessed by  PCR. The expression of the angiotensin receptor (Agtr1a) was measured by ELISA.

miR-802-5p exhibited dysregulation in both the kidney cortex and medulla of diabetic mice, with two- and four-fold over- xpressions, respectively. Functional enrichment analysis of the validated and predicted targets of miR-802-5p revealed its involvement in the reninangiotensin pathway, inflammation, and kidney development.  ifferential expression was observed in the Pten transcript and Agtr1a protein among the examined gene targets.

These findings suggest that miR-802-5p is a critical regulatorof diabetic nephropathy in the cortex and medulla compartments, contributing to disease pathogenesis through the reninangiotensinaxis and inflammatory pathways.