{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]],"date-time":"2026-06-17T04:57:18Z","timestamp":1781672238175,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]],"date-time":"2026-06-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1781654400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Diabetic nephropathy (DN), a major microvascular complication of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), is a leading cause of end-stage renal disease. Early diagnosis remains challenging because conventional biomarkers have limited sensitivity. Circulating microRNAs, including miR-29a and miR-142-5p, have recently emerged as promising diagnostic candidates in several diseases. This study aimed to compare serum levels of miR-29a and miR-142-5p between T2DM patients with and without DN and to evaluate their potential diagnostic utility.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This cross-sectional, single-center observational study enrolled 164 patients with T2DM and 164 healthy controls. Participants with T2DM were stratified into three subgroups according to urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR). Serum miR-29a and miR-142-5p expression levels were measured using quantitative reverse transcription PCR. Clinical parameters were statistically analyzed, and logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to assess diagnostic performance.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Serum miR-29a and miR-142-5p levels were significantly elevated in patients with DN and increased progressively with disease severity. Both microRNAs were identified as independent risk factors for DN. A combined model incorporating miR-29a, miR-142-5p, and cystatin C improved diagnostic accuracy, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.939.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Elevated serum miR-29a and miR-142-5p levels are strongly associated with DN progression, supporting their potential as non-invasive biomarkers for the diagnosis and risk stratification of patients with T2DM.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2026.1804671","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]],"date-time":"2026-06-17T04:45:50Z","timestamp":1781671550000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Potential of circulating miR-29a and miR-142-5p as biomarkers for diabetic nephropathy: a cross-sectional study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Qian","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Affiliated Lianyungang Clinical College of Nantong University","place":["Lianyungang, China"]},{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Second People\u2019s Hospital of Lianyungang Affiliated with Kangda College of Nanjing Medical University","place":["Lianyungang, China"]},{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Affiliated Lianyungang Clinical College of Bengbu Medical University","place":["Lianyungang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xuanxuan","family":"Jiao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medicine, Yangzhou Polytechnic University","place":["Yangzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tongdao","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Endocrinology, The Second People\u2019s Hospital of Lianyungang","place":["Lianyungang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chuanmei","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nephrology, The Second People\u2019s Hospital of Lianyungang","place":["Lianyungang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fang","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Affiliated Lianyungang Clinical College of Nantong University","place":["Lianyungang, China"]},{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Second People\u2019s Hospital of Lianyungang Affiliated with Kangda College of Nanjing Medical University","place":["Lianyungang, China"]},{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Affiliated Lianyungang Clinical College of Bengbu Medical University","place":["Lianyungang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fumeng","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Affiliated Lianyungang Clinical College of Nantong University","place":["Lianyungang, China"]},{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Second People\u2019s Hospital of Lianyungang Affiliated with Kangda College of Nanjing Medical University","place":["Lianyungang, China"]},{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Affiliated Lianyungang Clinical College of Bengbu Medical University","place":["Lianyungang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"101653","DOI":"10.1016\/j.diabet.2025.101653","article-title":"Increased fatty acid-binding protein 4 levels are associated with the risk of developing retinopathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.","volume":"51","author":"Liu","year":"2025","journal-title":"Diabetes Metab"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e80512","DOI":"10.7759\/cureus.80512","article-title":"Assessment of the awareness of risk factors and current behavior among individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus in India: a cross-sectional study.","volume":"17","author":"Dariya","year":"2025","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e70027","DOI":"10.1002\/edm2.70027","article-title":"Correlation between triglyceride-glucose index and microvascular complications in patients with early- onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus.","volume":"8","author":"Ran","year":"2025","journal-title":"Endocrinol Diabetes Metab"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"15018","DOI":"10.1038\/nrdp.2015.18","article-title":"Diabetic kidney disease.","volume":"1","author":"Thomas","year":"2015","journal-title":"Nat Rev Dis Primers"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1468737","DOI":"10.3389\/fendo.2025.1468737","article-title":"The relationship between advanced glycation end products, metabolic metrics, HbA1c, and diabetic nephropathy.","volume":"16","author":"Xue","year":"2025","journal-title":"Front Endocrinol (Lausanne)"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"245","DOI":"10.1186\/s13098-023-01202-x","article-title":"Prevalence and predictors of chronic kidney disease among type 2 diabetic patients worldwide, systematic review and meta-analysis.","volume":"15","author":"Fenta","year":"2023","journal-title":"Diabetol Metab Syndr"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"101384","DOI":"10.4239\/wjd.v16.i4.101384","article-title":"Elevated waist-to-hip ratio, as an abdominal obesity index, predicts the risk of diabetic kidney injury.","volume":"16","author":"Lin","year":"2025","journal-title":"World J Diabetes"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1451758","DOI":"10.3389\/fendo.2024.1451758","article-title":"Elevated circulating homocysteine concentrations delayed nerve conduction velocity and increase the risk of diabetic kidney disease in patients with type 2 diabetes.","volume":"15","author":"Lv","year":"2024","journal-title":"Front Endocrinol (Lausanne)"},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"998","DOI":"10.6026\/973206300200998","article-title":"Fluoride enigma in end stage renal disease.","volume":"20","author":"Sharon Rose","year":"2024","journal-title":"Bioinformation"},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2999","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms23062999","article-title":"MicroRNA 148a suppresses tuberculous fibrosis by targeting NOX4 and POLDIP2.","volume":"23","author":"Woo","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int J Mol Sci"},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"7287","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms21197287","article-title":"MiRNAs as noninvasive biomarkers and therapeutic agents of pituitary adenomas.","volume":"21","author":"Beylerli","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int J Mol Sci"},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"266","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bbrc.2012.08.082","article-title":"MicroRNA-29a is up-regulated in beta-cells by glucose and decreases glucose-stimulated insulin secretion.","volume":"426","author":"Bagge","year":"2012","journal-title":"Biochem Biophys Res Commun."},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"119","DOI":"10.4103\/abr.abr_375_21","article-title":"Therapeutic effect of kidney tubular cells-derived conditioned medium on the expression of microRNA-377, microRNA-29a, aquapurin-1, biochemical, and histopathological parameters following diabetic nephropathy injury in rats.","volume":"11","author":"Mansouri","year":"2022","journal-title":"Adv Biomed Res"},{"key":"B14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"695","DOI":"10.3760\/cma.j.cn311282-20221210-00686","article-title":"[Exosomal lncRNA ZEB1-AS1 secreted from mesenchymal stem cells attenuates diabetic nephropathy by regulating miR-142-5p\/PTEN axis].","volume":"39","author":"Liu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Chin J Endocrinol Metab"},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"S13","DOI":"10.2337\/dc19-S002","article-title":"Standards of medical care in diabetes-2019: classification and diagnosis of diabetes.","volume":"42","year":"2019","journal-title":"Diabetes Care"},{"key":"B16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1581691","DOI":"10.3389\/fendo.2025.1581691","article-title":"Identification of potential biomarkers for diabetic nephropathy via UPLC-MS\/MS-based metabolomics.","volume":"16","author":"Chen","year":"2025","journal-title":"Front Endocrinol (Lausanne)"},{"key":"B17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"174","DOI":"10.1177\/00045632241306060","article-title":"Establishment of reference intervals for estimated glomerular filtration rate in apparently healthy adults based on the full age spectrum equation: a single-centre study.","volume":"62","author":"Liu","year":"2025","journal-title":"Ann Clin Biochem"},{"key":"B18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"86","DOI":"10.1186\/s12920-025-02144-1","article-title":"Discovering diabetes complications-related microRNAs: meta-analyses and pathway modeling approach.","volume":"8","author":"Yin","year":"2025","journal-title":"BMC Med Genomics"},{"key":"B19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1565068","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2025.1565068","article-title":"Longitudinal analysis of hsa-miR-3163, hsa-miR-124-3p, hsa-miR-548c-3p, and hsa-miR-27a-3p as prognostic biomarkers in HIV-infected patients.","volume":"16","author":"Balkan","year":"2025","journal-title":"Front Immunol"},{"key":"B20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1138","DOI":"10.21037\/tlcr-2024-1205","article-title":"Exosomal miR-182-5p is a potential diagnostic marker for malignant pleural effusion.","volume":"14","author":"Zhao","year":"2025","journal-title":"Transl Lung Cancer Res"},{"key":"B21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2555","DOI":"10.21037\/tau-19-911","article-title":"Bioinformatic gene analysis for potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets of diabetic nephropathy associated renal cell carcinoma.","volume":"9","author":"Dong","year":"2020","journal-title":"Transl Androl Urol"},{"key":"B22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"90","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mce.2018.06.005","article-title":"MicroRNAs and diabetic kidney disease: systematic review and bioinformatic analysis.","volume":"477","author":"Assmann","year":"2018","journal-title":"Mol Cell Endocrinol"},{"key":"B23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"288","DOI":"10.1007\/s00125-022-05809-z","article-title":"MicroRNA biomarkers of type 2 diabetes: evidence synthesis from meta-analyses and pathway modelling.","volume":"66","author":"Zhu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Diabetologia"},{"key":"B24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2179","DOI":"10.1002\/jcb.26379","article-title":"MicroRNA-142-5p induces cancer stem cell-like properties of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma via inhibiting PTEN.","volume":"119","author":"Bai","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Cell Biochem"},{"key":"B25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"913791","DOI":"10.3389\/fbioe.2022.913791","article-title":"A potential target for diabetic vascular damage: high glucose-induced monocyte extracellular vesicles impair endothelial cells by delivering miR-142-5p.","volume":"10","author":"Zhang","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front Bioeng Biotechnol"},{"key":"B26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"12520","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-025-97151-8","article-title":"The application value of multimodal ultrasound imaging technology in the prediction of early-stage type 2 diabetic kidney disease.","volume":"15","author":"Wang","year":"2025","journal-title":"Sci Rep"},{"key":"B27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"424","DOI":"10.4103\/aam.aam_124_25","article-title":"Study of cystatin C and renal resistive index in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients to detect early diabetic kidney disease.","volume":"25","author":"Mahashabde","year":"2026","journal-title":"Ann Afr Med"},{"key":"B28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"S79","DOI":"10.2337\/diacare.27.2007.s79","article-title":"Nephropathy in diabetes.","volume":"27","author":"Molitch","year":"2004","journal-title":"Diabetes Care"},{"key":"B29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"457","DOI":"10.7150\/ijms.15548","article-title":"Differential microRNA profiles predict diabetic nephropathy progression in Taiwan.","volume":"13","author":"Chien","year":"2016","journal-title":"Int J Med Sci"},{"key":"B30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"108576","DOI":"10.1016\/j.celrep.2020.108576","article-title":"Expression of miRNA-29 in pancreatic \u03b2 cells promotes inflammation and diabetes via TRAF3.","volume":"34","author":"Sun","year":"2021","journal-title":"Cell Rep"},{"key":"B31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"7408","DOI":"10.62347\/DMQO5042","article-title":"Serum Homocysteine (Hcy), Cystatin C (Cys-C), and Urine Microalbumin (mAlb) are critical for early diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy.","volume":"17","author":"Yu","year":"2025","journal-title":"Am J Transl Res"},{"key":"B32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"93630","DOI":"10.4239\/wjd.v16.i4.93630","article-title":"MiR-29a-3p inhibits fibrosis of diabetic kidney disease in diabetic mice via downregulation of DNA methyl transferase 3A and 3B.","volume":"16","author":"Yang","year":"2025","journal-title":"World J Diabetes"},{"key":"B33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"925","DOI":"10.1007\/s10616-019-00335-0","article-title":"Oleanolic acid attenuated diabetic mesangial cell injury by activation of autophagy via miRNA-142-5p\/PTEN signaling.","volume":"71","author":"Chen","year":"2019","journal-title":"Cytotechnology"},{"key":"B34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"20","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules30010020","article-title":"Interrelation of natural polyphenol and fibrosis in diabetic nephropathy.","volume":"30","author":"Ma","year":"2024","journal-title":"Molecules"},{"key":"B35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"132","DOI":"10.3389\/fendo.2018.00132","article-title":"Identification of neuroendocrine stress response-related circulating microRNAs as biomarkers for type 2 diabetes mellitus and insulin resistance.","volume":"9","author":"Liang","year":"2018","journal-title":"Front Endocrinol (Lausanne)."},{"key":"B36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1529648","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2025.1529648","article-title":"Diagnostic value of serum TGF-\u03b21 and CysC in type 2 diabetic kidney disease: a cross-sectional study.","volume":"12","author":"Kang","year":"2025","journal-title":"Front Med (Lausanne)"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Medicine"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fmed.2026.1804671\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]],"date-time":"2026-06-17T04:46:02Z","timestamp":1781671562000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fmed.2026.1804671\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]]},"references-count":36,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fmed.2026.1804671"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fmed.2026.1804671","relation":{},"ISSN":["2296-858X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2296-858X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]]},"article-number":"1804671"}}