Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Nutrition and Metabolism Research Division, Korea Food Research Institute, Wanju-gun, Republic of Korea; Department of Food Biotechnology, University of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
Clin Nutr. 2020 Mar;39(3):910-916. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2019.03.033. Epub 2019 Apr 8.
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Altered microRNA (miRNA) expression is associated with the pathophysiology of obesity; however, little is known about the miRNAs commonly dysregulated in the blood and visceral fat tissue of obese patients. This study compared the circulating and visceral fat miRNA expression in subjects with and without obesity.
For the circulating miRNA study, 20 healthy control and 30 obese subjects were recruited. For the tissue miRNA expression study, omental fat tissue was collected in ten female subjects each in the control and obese groups. MiRNA expression was measured by TaqMan low-density arrays. Metabolic risk factors were measured. Target genes for selected miRNAs were analyzed using informatics tools and a functional network map was constructed.
11 miRNAs were down-regulated (miR-133a, -139-5p, -15b, -26a, -301, -30b, -30c, -374, -451, -570, and -636), and one was up-regulated (miR-155) in both depots in obese subjects. These miRNAs had significant associations with BMI, waist circumference, and fat mass. Among them, miR-15b, miR-26a, miR-301, miR-30b, and miR-30c had more predicted obesity-related target genes than other miRNAs. In particular, miR-15b had numerous target genes associated with adipogenesis, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling, diabetes and insulin resistance, and mitochondrial function.
It is suggested that the miRNA alteration in the serum and visceral fat has pathophysiological implications for obesity. Our study identified dysregulated miRNAs that may be novel therapeutic targets to combat obesity.
miRNA（微小 RNA）表达的改变与肥胖的病理生理学有关；然而，人们对肥胖患者血液和内脏脂肪组织中常见的失调 miRNA 知之甚少。本研究比较了肥胖和非肥胖患者的循环和内脏脂肪 miRNA 表达。
在循环 miRNA 研究中，招募了 20 名健康对照者和 30 名肥胖者。在组织 miRNA 表达研究中，在对照组和肥胖组中，每位女性受试者各采集网膜脂肪组织。通过 TaqMan 低通量阵列测量 miRNA 表达。测量代谢风险因素。使用信息学工具分析选定 miRNA 的靶基因，并构建功能网络图。
11 个 miRNA 在两个部位下调（miR-133a、-139-5p、-15b、-26a、-301、-30b、-30c、-374、-451、-570 和 -636），一个上调（miR-155）在肥胖受试者的两个部位。这些 miRNA 与 BMI、腰围和脂肪量有显著相关性。其中，miR-15b、miR-26a、miR-301、miR-30b 和 miR-30c 比其他 miRNA 具有更多预测的肥胖相关靶基因。特别是，miR-15b 有许多与脂肪生成、哺乳动物雷帕霉素靶蛋白（mTOR）信号、糖尿病和胰岛素抵抗以及线粒体功能相关的靶基因。
提示血清和内脏脂肪中的 miRNA 改变对肥胖具有病理生理学意义。我们的研究确定了失调的 miRNA，它们可能是对抗肥胖的新的治疗靶点。
