The global prevalence of diabetes mellitus was estimated to be 463 million people in 2019 and is predicted to rise to 700 million by 2045. The associated financial and societal costs of this burgeoning epidemic demand an understanding of the pathology of this disease, and its complications, that will inform treatment to enable improved patient outcomes. Nearly two decades after the sequencing of the human genome, the significance of noncoding RNA expression is still being assessed. The family of functional noncoding RNAs known as microRNAs regulates the expression of most genes encoded by the human genome. Altered microRNA expression profiles have been observed both in diabetes and in diabetic complications. These transcripts therefore have significant potential and novelty as targets for therapy, therapeutic agents and biomarkers.

据估计，2019 年全球糖尿病患病人数为 4.63 亿，预计到 2045 年将增至 7 亿。这种迅速流行的流行病会带来相关的财务和社会成本，需要了解这种疾病的病理学及其并发症，这将为治疗提供信息，从而改善患者的治疗效果。人类基因组测序近二十年后，非编码 RNA 表达的重要性仍在评估中。被称为 microRNA 的功能性非编码 RNA 家族调节人类基因组编码的大多数基因的表达。在糖尿病和糖尿病并发症中都观察到了 microRNA 表达谱的改变。因此，这些转录本作为治疗靶标、治疗剂和生物标志物具有巨大的潜力和新颖性。