Differential expression and correlation analysis of whole transcriptome for type 2 diabetes mellitus

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder accounting for over 90% of all diabetes cases and having a significant impact on global public health burdens. The pathogenesis of T2DM is highly complex, and increasing evidence suggests that non-coding RNA (ncRNA) plays a crucial role in regulating T2DM. However, there are still many unknown long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) and circular RNA (circRNA) that require further exploration. This study employed high-throughput whole-transcriptome RNA sequencing technology to sequence and analyze five whole-blood samples from each group, identifying differentially expressed mRNAs, lncRNAs, circRNAs, and miRNAs between the T2DM group and the control group.Correlation analyses were conducted, and a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network was constructed. A total of 411 differentially expressed mRNAs, 500 differentially expressed lncRNAs, 356 differentially expressed circRNAs, and 67 differentially expressed miRNAs were identified. Functional analysis revealed that cytokine-cytokine receptor interactions, graft-versus-host disease, inflammatory bowel disease, lipid and atherosclerosis, sphingolipid signaling pathways, TNF signaling pathways, and FOXO signaling pathways play important roles in T2DM. The gene list was enriched for immune response, 1-phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase activity, oxidoreductase activity, action on CH-NH2 donor groups, interleukin-18 receptor activity, and antimicrobial peptide biosynthesis processes. Additionally, 6 circular RNAs and 6 long non-coding RNAs were identified, which can act as ceRNAs competing with miRNAs in co-expression networks.