The effect of asprosin on MİRNA-181A expression and cell viability in dorsal root ganglions in vivo and in vitro models of diabetes

The prevalence of diabetes is one of the major public health problems that has increased in recent years. One of the most common and long-lasting complications in diabetic patients is neuropathic pain. Although the etiology of neuropathic pain is not well understood, there are studies showing an association between adipose tissue and adipokines and neuropathic pain. Dorsal root ganglion (DRG), which is involved in nociceptive transmission, plays an important role in the development and treatment of neuropathic pain. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying neuropathic pain, it is important to determine how gene expression patterns change in neuropathy and how these changes lead to the development and maintenance of chronic pain. It has been reported that the biological function of microRNAs (miRNAs) plays an important role in mediating diabetes and diabetic complications. miRNA-181a is part of a four-member miRNA family (miRNA-181a-d) identified in the human genome. miRNA-181a is known to be involved in homeostatic mechanisms such as apoptosis, autophagy, and mitochondrial biogenesis in diabetes. However, it is not known whether miRNA-181a is altered in DRG of diabetic mice. The amount of asprosin (ASP), a newly discovered adipokine, varies in diabetes and obesity. However, there is no study yet on how asprosin affects miRNA-181a expression in DRG in diabetes. This work has three main objectives. First, to investigate whether the expression of miRNA-181a is altered in mice DRGs with diabetes. Second, to determine whether asprosin administration affects the expression of miRNA-181a in mice DRGs. Third, to determine the efficacy of asprosin on the viability and apoptosis of DRG cells. Adult male Balb/C mice weighing 25-30 g were used for this study. Diabetes was induced in the mice by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ) (150 mg/kg). The experimental groups were divided into four groups: Control, asprosin (10 g/kg), STZ, STZ+asprosin (10 g/kg) (n=7 in each group). At the end of the study, the DRGs of the decapitated animals in the lumbar 4, 5 (L4, L5) were collected and the miRNA-181a levels were analyzed by qRT-PCR method. In addition, the efficacy of asprosin on apoptosis of DRG cells was determined by TUNEL assay and its activity on viability of DRG cells was determined by MTT assay. In conclusion, in this study, it was observed for the first time that the expression of miRNA-181a was decreased in DRG of diabetic mice . In addition, it was found for the first time that administration of asprosin increased the expression of miRNA-181a, the level of which was decreased in DRG of diabetic mice. It was observed that asprosin increased the viability of DRG cells and decreased the apoptosis of DRG cells. The results of this study demonstrate that asprosin modulates miRNA-181a expression, cell viability and apoptosis in the dorsal root ganglia of diabetic mice. Keywords: miRNA-181a, Diabetes, Asprosin, Dorsal Root Ganglion, Neuropathic pain