Imbalances in RNA metabolic networks in vascular lesions associated with diabetes and sarcopenia

Figure 2 The key role of non-coding RNA regulatory networks in comorbidity-related vascular lesions. This figure is produced using Adobe Illustrator and Biorender. Dysregulated miRNAs, long non-coding RNAs and circular RNAs form an integrated competing endogenous RNA regulatory network in diabetes-sarcopenia-associated vasculopathy. Dysregulation of miRNAs (such as miRNA-21, miRNA-126, miRNA-133a, miRNA-29 and miRNA-27), combined with the molecular scaffold function of long non-coding RNAs, the miRNA sponge effect and the role of circular RNAs as stable competing endogenous RNA regulatory factors, collectively regulate target genes. These non-coding RNAs collectively regulate endothelial dysfunction, inflammation, angiogenesis, vascular remodelling, atherosclerosis and vascular calcification, ultimately promoting the development of vascular complications in the context of diabetes-sarcopenia comorbidity. lncRNAs: Long non-coding RNAs; circRNAs: Circular RNAs; ceRNA: Competing endogenous RNA; VSMC: Vascular smooth muscle cell; MALAT1: Metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1; HOTAIR: HOX transcript antisense RNA; NEAT1: Nuclear enriched abundant transcript 1; GAS5: Growth arrest-specific 5; EndMT: Endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition.