Microrna 21 targets B Cell Lymphoma 2 (Bcl2) Mrna to increase beta cell apoptosis and exosomal Microrna 21 could serve as a biomarker of developing Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

The role of beta cell miR-21 in Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) pathophysiology has been controversial. Here, we sought to define the context of beta cell miR-21 upregulation in T1D and the phenotype of beta cell miR-21 overexpression through target identification. Furthermore, we sought to identify whether circulating extracellular vesicle (EV) beta cell-derived miR-21 may reflect inflammatory stress within the islet during T1D development.. Results suggest that beta cell miR-21 is increased in in-vivo models of T1D and cytokine-treated cells/islets. miR-21 overexpression decreased cell count and viability, and increased cleaved caspase-3 levels, suggesting increased cell death. In silico prediction tools identified the anti-apoptotic mRNA B Cell Lymphoma 2 (BCL2) as a conserved miR-21 target. Consistent with this, miR-21 overexpression decreased BCL2 transcript and protein expression, while miR-21 inhibition increased BCL2 protein levels and reduced cleaved caspase-3 levels following cytokine-treatment. miR-21-mediated cell death was abrogated in 828/33 cells, which constitutively overexpress BCL-2. Luciferase assays suggested a direct interaction between miR-21 and the BCL2 3’untranslated region. With miR-21 overexpression, PRP revealed a shift of BCL-2 message toward monosome-associated fractions, indicating inhibition of BCL2 translation. Finally, overexpression in dispersed human islets confirmed a reduction in BCL2 transcripts and increased cleaved caspase 3 production. Analysis of EVs from human beta cells and islets exposed to cytokines revealed a 3-5-fold increase in miR-21. Nanoparticle tracking analysis showed no changes in EV quantity in response to cytokines, implicating specific changes within EV cargo as responsible for the miR-21 increase. Circulating EVs from diabetic non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice displayed progressive increases in miR-21 that preceded diabetes onset. To validate relevance to human T1D, we assayed serum samples collected from 19 pediatric T1D subjects at the time of diagnosis and 16 healthy controls. Consistent with our NOD data, EV miR-21 was increased 5-fold in T1D samples. In conclusion, in contrast to the pro-survival role reported in other systems, our results demonstrate that miR-21 increases beta cell death via BCL2 transcript degradation and inhibition of BCL2 translation. Furthermore, we propose that EV miR-21 may be a promising marker of developing T1D.