Regulation of MicroRNA-378 expression in mature human adipose tissue cells by adiponectin, free fatty acids and dexamethasone

Purpose: To investigate the effects of adiponectin (ADPN), free fatty acids (FFAs), growth hormone (GH), and dexamethasone (DEX) on miR-378 expression in human adipose tissue cells, and their influence on regulation of obesity and insensitivity to insulin.Methods: Human pre-adipocytes were cultured and differentiated. Adipocytes were treated with ADPN, FFAs, GH and DEX. RNA was isolated and quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR).Results: Stimulation with FFA led to significant up-regulation of the expression of MiR-378(approximately 3.8-fold) relative to control at the 4th hour (p < 0.01) in human mature adipose tissue cells. The expression of MiR-378 was increased almost 1.5-fold by ADPN within 24 h, relative to untreated control (p < 0.05).Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate that miR-378 expression is influenced by FFAs, ADPN, and DEX, the interaction of which may be involved in the pathogenesis of obesity-induced insensitivity to insulin. Thus, miR-378 is a potential biomarker for predicting the risk of complications, especially insulin resistance in obesityKeywords: MiR-378, Adipocytes, Adiponectin, Free fatty acids, Growth hormone, Dexamethasone, Obesity, Insulin resistance