Metabolic syndrome (MetS), which includes several clinical components such as abdominal obesity, insulin resistance (IR), dyslipidemia, microalbuminuria, hypertension, proinflammatory state, and oxidative stress (OS), has become a global epidemic health issue contributing to a high risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In recent years, microRNAs (miRNAs), used as noninvasive biomarkers for diagnosis and therapy, have aroused global interest in complex processes in health and diseases, including MetS and its components. MiRNAs can exist stably in serum, liver, skeletal muscle (SM), heart muscle, adipose tissue (AT), and βcells, because of their ability to escape the digestion of RNase. Here we first present an overall review on recent findings of the relationship between miRNAs and several main components of MetS, such as IR, obesity, diabetes, lipid metabolism, hypertension, hyperuricemia, and stress, to illustrate the targeting proteins or relevant pathways that are involved in the progress of MetS and also help us find promising novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

Purpose. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with chronic stress. miR-18a-5p and miR-22-3p are two miRNAs which can target the glucocorticoid receptor. This study looked at the changes in metabolic parameters and the predictive value of the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to stress-associated miRNA ratios as new indicators in subjects with and without MetS in southern China. Patients and Methods. There were 81 participants (39 with MetS and 42 without MetS) in this cross-sectional study. The potential miRNAs were filtrated in the GEO database. The expression of miR-18a-5p and miR-22-3p in PBMCs was evaluated by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The risk of miRNA and PBMCs to stress-associated miRNA ratios contributing to the presence of MetS was estimated by univariate and multivariate logistic regression models. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to evaluate diagnostic accuracy. Results. MetS was positively correlated with cortisol, IL-6, lymphocyte to miR-18a-5p ratio (LT18R), lymphocyte to miR-22-3p ratio (LT22R), monocyte to miR-18a-5p ratio (MT18R), monocyte to miR-22-3p ratio (MT22R), PBMCs to miR-18a-5p ratio (PT18R), and PBMCs to miR-22-3p ratio (PT22R) and negatively associated with the expression levels of miR-18a-5p and miR-22-3p (P<0.05). In addition, PT18R (odds ratio: 0.894; 95% CI: 0.823-0.966; P<0.001) and PT22R (odds ratio: 0.809; 95% CI: 0.717-0.900; P<0.001) were independent predictors of MetS, respectively. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to assess the value of the PT18R-PT22R (PMR) panel (odds ratio: 0.905; 95% CI: 0.838-0.971; P<0.001) for predicting MetS. The area under the curve yielded a cut-off value of 0.608, with sensitivity of 74.4% and specificity of 95.2% (P<0.001). Conclusion. In summary, miR-18a-5p and miR-22-3p in PBMCs may be important biomarkers of stress reaction and may play a role in vulnerability to MetS. Besides, the inflammatory cells to the two miRNA ratios demonstrated high accuracy in the diagnosis of MetS.

Background- Blood Oxygen Level-Dependent Magnetic Resonance Imaging (BOLD-MRI) provide regional measurements of oxygen content using deoxyhemoglobin paramagnetic characteristics. Metabolic Syndrome (MS) could affect renal oxygenation, which have an impact on the clinical course of the disease. The goal of this study was to evaluate BOLD-MRI findings in kidneys of male patients with MS.Materials and Methods- A total of 24 males patients with MS were collected in the hospital and 24 male volunteers were selected as the control group. All volunteers underwent a renal scan using 3.0T magnet (Philips, Achieva). R2* of the renal cortex and medulla was measured on BOLD images.Results- Medullary R2* (MR2*) and Medulla/Cortex R2* ratio（MCR） were significantly lower in MS patients (MR2*=24.39±2.18 s−1, MCR=1.29±0.14) than in controls (MR2*=28.21±4.70s−1, MCR=1.53±0.28 ) (P<0.01), and cortical R2* (CR2*) values were not significantly different between the two group. Conclusions- The MR2* and MCR were lower in male patients with MS compared to controls. MR2*and MCR were potential imaging biomarkers for prediction of early renal impairment in male MS.

to the development of MetS. Psychological stress can affect health through complex interactions among neuroendocrine responses and energy homoeostasis [4]. Glucocorticoid (GC) (cortisol in human beings) is the critical matter responding to stress, which can cause central obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, and glucose intolerance. GC action is mediated by glucocorticoid receptor (GR), a nuclear receptor that regulates physiological events through activation or repression of target genes involved in inflammation, gluconeogenesis, and adipocyte differentiation [5].Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), a non-coding RNA with more than 200 nucleotides in length, can modify chromatin structures by interacting with polycomb repressive complex 2, enhance or reduce gene transcription by recruiting transcription factors, and regulate miRNA processing in the cell nucleus. In the cytoplasm,