Effect of metformin on the long non-coding RNA expression levels in type 2 diabetes: an in vitro and clinical trial study.

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that the anti-hyperglycemic effect of metformin could be associated with its impact on long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) expression levels. Accordingly, in the current study, we evaluated the effect of metformin on the expression of H19, MEG3, MALAT1, and GAS5 in in vitro and in vivo situations. METHODS: The effect of hyperglycemia and metformin treatment on the lncRNAs expression level was evaluated in HepG2 cells. A total of 179 age- and sex-matched subjects, including 88 newly diagnosed patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and 91 healthy volunteers, were included in the case-control phase of the study. Moreover, 40 newly diagnosed patients participated in the study's open-labeled non-controlled clinical trial phase. The expression levels of lncRNA in HepG2 cells and whole blood samples were determined using QRT-PCR. RESULTS: In vitro results showed that hyperglycemia induced H19 and MALAT1 and decreased GAS5 expression levels. Moreover, metformin decreased H19 and increased GAS5 expression in high glucose-treated cells. Case-control study findings revealed that the circulating levels of H19, MALAT1, and MEG3 were significantly elevated in T2D patients compared to the control subjects. Finally, results showed that the level of circulating H19 levels decreased while GAS5 increased in T2D patients after taking metformin for 2 months. CONCLUSION: The results of the current study provided evidence that metformin could exert its effect in the treatment of T2D by altering the expression levels of H19 and GAS5.

Circulating Levels of HOTAIR- lncRNA Are Associated with Disease Progression and Clinical Parameters in Type 2 Diabetes Patients.

Background: Recent studies have implicated dysregulated long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) levels in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes (T2D). This study aimed to assess the expression of circulating HOTAIR and uc.48+, examining their correlation with clinical and biochemical variables in T2D patients, pre-diabetic individuals, and healthy controls. Methods: Peripheral blood levels of lncRNAs were quantified using QRT-PCR in 65 T2D patients, 63 pre-diabetic individuals, and 63 healthy subjects. Pathway enrichment analysis was conducted to explore the functional enrichment of lncRNA-miRNA targets. Results: Analysis revealed a significantly elevated circulating level of HOTAIR in both T2D (P < 0.0001) and pre-diabetic patients (P = 0.04) compared to controls. ROC analysis demonstrated that, at a cutoff value of 9.1, with a sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 62%, HOTAIR could distinguish T2D patients from controls (AUC = 0.723, 95% CI 0.637-0.799, P < 0.0001). Spearman correlation analysis identified a significant positive correlation between HOTAIR expression, HbA1c, and insulin resistance (P < 0.005). MiRNA enrichment analysis indicated significant enrichment of diabetes-related pathways among HOTAIR's miRNA targets. Conversely, no significant difference in uc.48+ circulating levels between groups was observed, but a significant positive correlation emerged between uc.48+ and systolic blood pressure. Conclusions: This study provides evidence that elevated HOTAIR expression levels are associated with T2D progression, suggesting their potential as biomarkers for early diagnosis and prognosis.

Evaluation of the quality and accuracy of breast cancer knowledge among persian language websites.

INTRODUCTION: The internet has become a powerful worldwide information source that revolutionized access to knowledge, especially in the fields of health and medicine (health knowledge). Therefore, providing high-quality, accurate, reliable, and relevant information on dependable websites is a possible way of providing the patient with needed information and, thus, achieving the benefits of informed patients regarding outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the quality and accuracy of breast cancer knowledge among Persian language websites. METHODS: Two search engines were searched in the Persian language about breast cancer. The first 30 websites were selected for further evaluation based on the completeness, correctness, transparency, and accessibility of health knowledge. The DISCERN instrument was used to assess the quality of the Persian language websites on this issue. RESULTS: Among the 30 websites, about 23% of websites provide completely correct information and about 30% provide mostly correct information. Sixty percent of the websites provided author information, and 46% of them had a healthcare professional or expert as the author. Sixty percent of the websites stated the creation date on the pages, while 40% of them did not provide any health knowledge. Scores on accessibility were always easy for most of the websites. Based on the quality rating system of DISCERN, about 60% of the websites were presented as very poor. CONCLUSION: Website rankings enable healthcare professionals to identify and signpost patients to reliable up-to-date websites to ensure that patients receive high-quality knowledge. This review has provided evidence of inadequate and inaccurate health knowledge about breast cancer on the Persian language websites. This issue requires further investigation to understand the barriers and solutions available to provide reliable information about breast cancer and how this information affects the patient's outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The project was found to be in accordance with the ethical principles and the national norms and standards for conducting research in Iran with the approval ID and date of IR.TUMS.IKHC.REC.1399.379 and 2021-01-01 respectively, and is registered with research project number 49890 in the Vice Chancellor for Research and Technology Development of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. URL: https://ethics. RESEARCH: ac.ir/EthicsProposalViewEn.php?id=170978 .