Islet mRNA changes in rat pancreatic islets during aging

Aging is a risk factor for a majority of metabolic diseases including type 2 diabetes. During aging pancreatic beta-cell function decreases leading to impaired insulin secretion and proliferation and to an increase in apoptosis. Impairment of pancreatic beta cell functions and survival has been linked to gene expression changes. The aim of our study was to obtain a global expression profile of microRNAs and mRNAs of pancreatic islets of 3 and 12 month old male Wistar rats in order to identify the changes occurring during aging.衰老是包括2型糖尿病在内的绝大多数代谢性疾病的危险因素。衰老过程中，胰岛β细胞（pancreatic beta-cell）功能逐渐衰退，进而导致胰岛素分泌与增殖能力受损，并引发细胞凋亡（apoptosis）率上升。胰岛β细胞功能与存活能力受损已被证实与基因表达改变密切相关。本研究旨在获取3月龄与12月龄雄性Wistar大鼠胰岛的微小RNA（microRNA）及信使RNA（mRNA）全局表达谱，以识别衰老过程中发生的分子变化。