title: MicroRNAs involved in the browning process of adipocytes.
abstract: The present review focuses on the role of miRNAs in the control of white adipose tissue browning, a process which describes the recruitment of adipocytes showing features of brown adipocytes in white adipose tissue. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of short non-coding RNAs (19-22 nucleotides) involved in gene regulation. Although the main effect of miRNAs is the inhibition of the translational machinery, thereby preventing the production of the protein product, the activation of protein translation has also been described in the literature. In addition to modifying translation, miRNAs binding to its target mRNAs also trigger the recruitment and association of mRNA decay factors, leading to mRNA destabilization, degradation, and thus to the decrease in expression levels. Although a great number of miRNAs have been reported to potentially regulate genes that play important roles in the browning process, only a reduced number of studies have demonstrated experimentally an effect on this process associated to changes in miRNA expressions, so far.
  These studies have shown, by using either primary adipocyte cultures or experimental models of mice (KO mice, mice overexpressing a specific miRNA), that miR-196a, miR-26, and miR-30 are needed for browning process development. By contrast, miR-155, miR-133, miR-27b, and miR-34 act as negative regulators of this process [corrected]. Further studies are needed to fully describe the miRNA network-involved white adipose tissue browning regulation.
authors.affiliation: Nutrition and Obesity Group, Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and Lucio Lascaray Research Center, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.|CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Arias
authors.affiliation: Nutrition and Obesity Group, Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and Lucio Lascaray Research Center, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.|CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aguirre
authors.affiliation: Nutrition and Obesity Group, Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and Lucio Lascaray Research Center, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.|CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fernández-Quintela
authors.affiliation: Nutrition and Food Science, Faculty of Biochemistry and Biological Sciences, National University of Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: González
authors.affiliation: Nutrition and Obesity Group, Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and Lucio Lascaray Research Center, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.|CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lasa
authors.affiliation: Nutrition and Obesity Group, Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and Lucio Lascaray Research Center, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.|CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Miranda
authors.affiliation: Nutrition and Obesity Group, Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and Lucio Lascaray Research Center, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.|CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Macarulla
authors.affiliation: Nutrition and Obesity Group, Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and Lucio Lascaray Research Center, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. mariapuy.portillo@ehu.eus.|CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain. mariapuy.portillo@ehu.eus.
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Portillo
mesh_terms: D000069797:Adipocytes, Beige / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D052438:Adipocytes, White / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D052436:Adipose Tissue, White / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D054338:Cell Transdifferentiation; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism*; D008954:Models, Biological; D009765:Obesity / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D020871:RNA Stability; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; D012333:RNA, Messenger
keywords: Brite/beige adipocytes; Browning; White adipose tissue; microRNAs