title: MiR-146b is a regulator of human visceral preadipocyte proliferation and differentiation and its expression is altered in human obesity.
abstract: Visceral obesity is an independent risk factor for metabolic syndrome, and abnormal fat accumulation is linked to increases in the number and size of adipocytes. MiR-146b was a miRNA highly expressed in mature adipocytes while very lowly expressed in human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and human visceral preadipocytes (vHPA). In this paper, we mainly focused on the roles of miR-146b in adipogenesis. We found miR-146b could inhibit the proliferation of visceral preadipocytes and promote their differentiation. MiR-146b in human visceral adipocytes inhibited the expression of KLF7, a member of the Kruppel-like transcription factors, as demonstrated by a firefly luciferase reporter assay, indicating that KLF7 is a direct target of the endogenous miR-146b. MiR-146b expression was significantly altered in visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissues in human overweight and obese subjects, and in the epididymal fat tissues and brown fat tissues of diet-induced obese mice. Our data indicates that miR-146b may be a new therapeutic target against human visceral obesity and metabolic dysfunction.
authors.affiliation: Nanjing Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210004, China; Institute of Pediatrics, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Nanjing Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210004, China.
authors.forename: Yong-Mei
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Nanjing Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210004, China; Institute of Pediatrics, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China.
authors.forename: Chen-Bo
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Nanjing Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210004, China; Institute of Pediatrics, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Nanjing Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210004, China; Institute of Pediatrics, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China.
authors.forename: Chun-Mei
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Nanjing Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210004, China; Institute of Pediatrics, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China.
authors.forename: Guang-Feng
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Nanjing Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210004, China; Institute of Pediatrics, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China.
authors.forename: Ling-Xia
authors.initials: LX
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.affiliation: Nanjing Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210004, China; Institute of Pediatrics, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China.
authors.forename: Fang-Yan
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Nanjing Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210004, China. Electronic address: zhangcm79@163.com.
authors.forename: Chun-Mei
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Nanjing Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210004, China; Institute of Pediatrics, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China. Electronic address: xrguo@njmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xi-Rong
authors.initials: XR
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D017667:Adipocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D050156:Adipogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000235:genetics; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008820:Mice, Obese; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009765:Obesity / Q000235:genetics*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: C542542:MIRN146 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: Adipocyte proliferation and differentiation; Diet-induced obese mouse; Human visceral obesity; Human visceral preadipocytes; KLF7; MiR-146b