Comparative Analysis of the Transcriptome of Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adult (LADA) Patients from Eastern China

Abstract

Latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) is characterized as a slow-progressing form of autoimmune diabetes. LADA resembles some phenotypes of type 1 diabetes (T1D) and type 2 diabetes (T2D), frequently leading to misdiagnosis and inappropriate therapeutic strategies. Understanding its transcriptome profiles aids in revealing the detailed molecular mechanisms of LADA and its therapy. In the present study, we performed RNA-seq analysis of LADA patients from Eastern China and showed that LADA exhibited 277 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with 199 upregulated and 78 downregulated. Gene ontology and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed that these DEGs were mainly related to immune function and cell death and growth. Furthermore, a comparison of DEGs in LADA with those in T1D and T2D identified from the online databases showed that there are very few overlapped genes between LADA and T1D or T2D, confirming LADA to be a distinct type of diabetes from T1D or T2D. In summary, our comprehensive analysis may aid in the understanding and treatment of LADA patients in Eastern China.