Diabetic Foot: A MicroRNA-Centric Approach

Abstract

Abstract Introdução: Diabetic neuropathy-associated vasculopathy is a significant risk factor for the development of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). In the context of DFUs, miRNAs can influence the cascade of molecular events that culminate in healing. Objective: To design in silico the molecular structures of microRNAs (miRNAs) overexpressed in diabetic foot ulcer healing. Methods: We conducted a search for the nucleotide sequences of eight miRNAs overexpressed in DFUs, and the following miRNAs were selected: miRNA-146a, miRNA-155, miRNA-132, miRNA-191, miRNA-21, miRNA-203a, miRNA-203b, and miRNA-210. These miRNAs were selected for evaluation in this study based on pre-clinical evidence, differential expression in DFUs, and therapeutic potential. Subsequently, the molecular structures of the eight miRNAs were designed in silico. The nucleotide sequences were retrieved from GenBank, the genetic sequence database of the National Center for Biotechnology Information. The obtained sequences were aligned using multiple alignment algorithms from the RNA Fold web server. RNAComposer, an automated miRNA structure modeling server, was employed for the in silico modeling of the structures. Results: We performed a search for the nucleotide sequences and designed the molecular structures of the following miRNAs overexpressed in diabetic foot ulcer healing: miRNA-146a, miRNA-155, miRNA-132, miRNA-191, miRNA-21, miRNA-203a, miRNA-203b, and miRNA-210. We generated a tutorial on the molecular models of these eight miRNAs overexpressed in the diabetic foot, based on in silico projections of their molecular structures. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the in silico design of secondary structures for a selection of eight miRNAs overexpressed in diabetic foot ulcer healing, utilizing techniques from computational biology.