MiRNA expression in adipose tissue and liver from a spontaneous rat model of Type 2 diabetes

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding RNA molecules involved in post-transcriptional control of gene expression of a wide number of genes, including those involved in glucose homeostasis. Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is characterized by hyperglycaemia and defects in insulin secretion and action at target tissues. Using a miRNA microarray platform, we sought to establish differences in miRNA expression in two insulin-target tissues (liver and adipose tissue) from seven-month-old spontaneously diabetic (Goto-Kakizaki [GK]) and non-diabetic (Brown-Norway [BN]) rats. MiRNA data were integrated with gene expression data from the same rats to investigate how differentially expressed miRNAs affected the expression of their predicted target genes.