Meta-regulation: microRNA regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism.
Maintenance of homeostasis during environmental flux requires constant metabolic adjustment, achieved partly through the fine regulation of gene expression. MicroRNAs are key players in this regulatory milieu; they have been implicated in regulating gene expression within several metabolically active tissues including the endocrine pancreas, liver and adipose tissue. Recent studies, for example, implicate miR-375 in pancreatic islet cell viability and function, and removal or overexpression of miR-375 profoundly affects glucose metabolism. In the liver, miR-122 is important for normal lipid metabolism. In fact, misexpression of miRNAs can occur in some diseases, suggesting that restoring miRNA expression is a potential therapeutic approach for both metabolic syndrome and diabetes.
Department of Surgery, Child and Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 4H4, Canada. fclynn@interchange.ubc.ca
Francis C
FC
Lynn
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D050260:Carbohydrate Metabolism / Q000235:genetics*; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000378:metabolism; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000235:genetics*; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D009132:Muscles / Q000378:metabolism
D035683:MicroRNAs; D005947:Glucose