LncRNA Gm15290 sponges miR-27b to promote PPARγ-induced fat deposition and contribute to body weight gain in mice.

We found that Gm15290 was one of the most upregulated lncRNAs in the adipose of ob/ob mice through lncRNA microarray analysis. Then, manipulations of overexpression and silencing in mouse primary adipocytes showed that Gm15290 positively regulated adipogenesis, manifested by increasing lipid deposition and upregulating adipogenic genes including PPARγ, C/EBPα, and aP2. However, overexpression of mutant Gm15290 (at the binding site of miR-27c) did not have an promoting effect on adipogenesis. Additionally, Gm15290 was found to potentially interact with miR-27b that had been identified as a PPARγ targeting miRNA, and we verified their interaction by luciferase activity and RNA pull down assays. Furthermore, inhibition of Gm15290, by injection of the Gm15290 siRNA, decreased the body weight gain and mass of adipose tissues, including iWAT and eWAT, in mice fed with HFD. In conclusion, Gm15290 sponges miR-27b to increase fat deposition and body weight in HFD-fed mice.