Investigation of the Role of MicroRNAs in Adipose Tissue from People Infected with HIV Who Develop Type 2 Diabetes

People with HIV (PWH) are at increased risk for type 2 diabetes (T2D) due to both disease-related and treatment-related factors. MicroRNAs are regulatory elements of transcription of mRNAs to amino acids and regulate many physiological processes, including in adipose tissue. There is promising but extremely limited evidence for the role of specific microRNAs and their mRNA targets in the dysregulation of adipose tissue related to HIV infection and risk for T2D. We propose to evaluate microRNA expression in adipose tissue from PWH who do and do not have T2D and to investigate whether there are corresponding changes in target mRNA expression that might provide insights about the functional impacts of HIV on adipose tissue and risk for T2D. We will also explore whether circulating microRNAs in plasma may be novel signals for these underlying adipose tissue perturbations and might have clinical implications as biomarkers of risk for T2D in PWH. Knowledge gained from this project has the potential to inform future hypothesis-driven studies into specific molecular targets to diminish the harmful impact of HIV on adipose tissue physiology and risk for T2D and as potential biomarkers to detect latent risk in PWH who are at greatest risk for T2D.