Circulating MicroRNAs in Elderly Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Figure 1

Experimental design for the identification of circulating miRNAs in T2D patients. The duration of the study was 2 years. The blue horizontal arrow indicates the duration of the different phases of the project. The red vertical arrows indicate the main study periods. In year 1, patients were enrolled and started on metformin + sitagliptin (see Materials and Methods for details). After 3 and 15 months of treatment (t₃ and t₁₅), HbA1c values were reassessed and patients were classified as nonresponders (NR) or responders (R). Plasma miRNA levels at baseline (t₀) and t₁₅ from groups R and NR were compared as indicated. Comparison of plasma pools: (1) NR-t₀ versus R-t₀, (2) R-t₁₅ versus R-t₀, (3) NR-t₁₅ versus NR-t₀, and (4) NR-t₁₅ versus R-t₁₅.