DENTAL IMPLANTS UNDER DIABETIC CONDITIONS: microRNAs AS CANDIDATE BIOMARKERS OF OSSEOINTEGRATION

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus may impair bone metabolism, immune-inflammatory responses, and dental implant osseointegration, particularly under inadequate glycemic control. In this context, microRNAs (miRNAs), small non-coding RNAs involved in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression, have been investigated as potential molecular indicators of peri-implant bone response. This review aimed to analyze recent evidence regarding microRNAs associated with osseointegration under diabetic conditions and discuss their potential biomarker candidates. An integrative literature review was conducted using a search period restricted to the previous five years, including experimental, transcriptomic, and bioinformatic studies directly related to the diabetes–implant–miRNA axis. Six studies were included in the final qualitative synthesis. The studies identified alterations involving miR-207, miR-491-5p, miR-140-3p, miR-23a-3p, miR-15b-5p, and miR-106b-5p, associated with osteogenic differentiation, inflammatory responses, oxidative stress, angiogenesis, and cellular metabolism. The identified miRNAs were associated with mechanisms related to peri-implant bone formation, whereas miR-207 showed promising discriminatory capacity in an experimental model. However, the lack of prospective clinical studies involving diabetic patients receiving dental implants currently prevents their routine diagnostic application. MicroRNAs therefore represent promising biomarker candidates, but their translation into clinical implant dentistry requires validation in human cohorts, standardized sample collection, reproducible analytical methods, and correlation with established clinical and radiographic parameters of osseointegration.