Schematic representation to show the effect of diabetes on efferocytosis.
Image on the left shows that diabetes-induced decrease in miR-126 expression results in upregulation of ADAM9 expression that in-turn leads to proteolytic cleavage of MerTK and formation of inactive sMer. The resulting decrease in MerTK phosphorylation (inactivation) leads to reduced downstream cytoskeletal signaling required for engulfment and thus decreases efferocytosis of apoptotic cells and lower inflammation resolution, which eventually results in defective organ repair. This is termed as “not ready to eat” signal of macrophages in the diabetic conditions. Image on the right depicts that overexpression of miR-126 suppresses ADAM9 expression, which in turn rescues efferocytosis in diabetic conditions. This sends “ready to eat signal” from the miR-126 overexpressed macrophages in diabetic conditions. This eventually results in improved organ repair and regeneration. This we termed as “ready to eat” signal from the macrophages. Access the full publication at https://www.nature.com/articles/srep36207
