FFAs and adipokine-mediated regulation of hsa-miR-143 expression in human adipocytes

• Published in: Molecular biology reports 2013-10, Vol.40 (10), p.5669-5675
• Main Authors: Zhu, Lingling, Shi, Chunmei, Ji, Chenbo, Xu, Guangfeng, Chen, Ling, Yang, Lei, Fu, Ziyi, Cui, Xianwei, Lu, Yibing, Guo, Xirong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adipocytes; Adipocytes - drug effects; Adipocytes - metabolism; Adipokines - pharmacology; Animal Anatomy; Animal Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cell Differentiation - drug effects; Cell Differentiation - genetics; Cytokines; Fatty acids; Fatty Acids, Nonesterified - pharmacology; Gene Expression Regulation - drug effects; Histology; Humans; Insulin resistance; Interleukin-6 - pharmacology; Leptin - pharmacology; Life Sciences; MicroRNAs - genetics; MicroRNAs - metabolism; Morphology; Resistin - pharmacology; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - pharmacology
• ISSN: 0301-4851; 1573-4978
• DOI: 10.1007/s11033-013-2668-2

Accumulating evidence suggests that microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in regulating the pathways in adipose tissue that control processes such as adipogenesis, insulin resistance, and inflammation. MiR-143 is a well-characterized miRNA involved in adipogenesis and may be involved in regulating insulin resistance. Free fatty acids (FFAs) and adipokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), leptin, resistin, and interleukin-6 (IL-6), have already been identified as main regulators of obesity and insulin sensitivity. Therefore, we studied the effects of these inflammatory cytokines on the expression of miR-143. FFAs, resistin, and leptin downregulated miR-143 expression in human adipocytes, whereas TNF-α and IL-6 had little effect on miR-143 expression. These results suggest that the expression of miR-143 is affected by a variety of factors that are related to insulin sensitivity. Therefore, miR-143 may be an important mediator in the development of obesity-related insulin resistance.