Studies have shown that patients with diabetes have an approximate 4‐fold high risk of CLI.27 Non‐coding RNA such as RNA interference and lncRNAs have been demonstrated to have abilities to either up‐regulate or down‐regulate gene expression, implying that they can affect the disease progression or have therapeutic value.28 In this study, the expression of GAPLINC was increased under low oxygen condition, but glucose levels did not influence the expression of GAPLINC. Here, GAPLINC is linked to diabetes mellitus.