Abstract: Objective The aim of this study was to explore the implications of serum micro RNA (miR)-17, miR-20a and miR-20b in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods 46 patients with T2DM and 50 patients (mild in 19, moderate in 17 and severe in 14) with NAFLD and T2DM were admitted to our hospital between December 2018 and June 2020. Serum miR-17, miR-20a and miR-20b mRNA levels were detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative RT-PCR. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was applied to analyze the independent risk factorsfor occurrence of T2DM with underlying NAFLD, and the area (AUC) under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was applied to analyze the diagnostic efficacy of each indicator for severe NAFLD. Results Serum miR-17, miR-20a and miR-20b mRNA levels in patients with NAFLD and T2DM were (5.6±1.3),(3.8±0.9) and (1.8±0.5), all significantly higher than in patients with T2DM; serum miR-17, miR-20a and miR-20b mRNA levels in patients with severe NAFLD were (6.0±1.1), (4.0±0.8) and (1.9±0.5), significantly higher than in patients with moderate NAFLD or in patients with mild NAFLD; multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that the body mass index, serum LDL-C, miR-17, miR-20a and miR-20b levels were the independent risk factors for T2DM with underlying NAFLD (P<0.05); the ROC analysis demonstrated that the AUC were 0.75, 0.74 and 0.70 by serum miR-17, miR-20a and miR-20b in diagnosing severe NAFLD. Conclusion Serum miR-17, miR-20a and miR-20b levels in patients with NAFLD and T2DM significantly increase, which might be involved in the pathogenesis of NAFLD.

Key words: Non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases, Type 2 diabetes mellitus, micro RNA-17, miR-20a, miR-20b, Diagnosis