The interplay between noncoding RNAs and insulin in diabetes

Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), including microRNAs, long noncoding RNAs and circular RNAs, regulate various biological processes and are involved in the initiation and progression of human diseases. Insulin, a predominant hormone secreted from pancreatic β cells, is an essential factor in regulation of systemic metabolism through multifunctional insulin signaling. Insulin production and action are tightly controlled. Dysregulations of insulin production and action can impair metabolic homeostasis, and eventually lead to the development of multiple metabolic diseases, especially diabetes. Accumulating data indicates that ncRNAs modulate β cell mass, insulin synthesis, secretion and signaling, and their role in diabetes is dramatically emerging. This review summarizes our current knowledge of ncRNAs as regulators of insulin, with particular emphasis on the implications of this interplay in the development of diabetes. We outline the role of ncRNAs in pancreatic β cell mass and function, which is critical for insulin production and secretion. We also highlight the involvement of ncRNAs in insulin signaling in peripheral tissues including liver, muscle and adipose, and discuss ncRNA-mediated inter-organ crosstalk under diabetic conditions. A more in-depth understanding of the interplay between ncRNAs and insulin may afford valuable insights and novel therapeutic strategies for treatment of diabetes, as well as other human diseases.