Taurine protect against diabetic neuropathy. However, the protective mechanism of taurine has been poorly understood. It has been demonstrated that microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in regulating gene expression. Therefore, it is interested in whether taurine affects miRNAs expression profile in peripheral nerve tissue of diabetic neuropathy. In the present study, rats were treated as three group: (1) control (Con) group, (2) diabetic mellitus (DM) group and (3) taurine treatment (Tau) group. Sciatic nerve tissue was harvested and miRNA expression was determined using sequencing. The results showed that 80 miRNAs showed significant difference in DM group compared to Con group, of which 20 miRNAs showed up-regulating, as well as, 60 miRNAs showed down-regulating. On the other hand, 215 differential miRNAs were found between DM and Tau groups. Moreover, the numbers of up-regulated and down-regulated miRNAs were 1 and 214, respectively. Twelve specific miRNAs were screened out and the target genes were obtained by target analysis software. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses showed that these potential target genes for the miRNAs might be involved in axon guidance, generation of neurons, nervous system development and neurogenesis. Our results provided a miRNA profile for further exploring protective mechanisms of taurine against diabetic peripheral neuropathy.
Keywords: Diabetic neuropathy; MicroRNA; Sequencing; Taurine.