Abstract
MicroRNA‑29a (miR‑29a) expression has been reported to be closely associated with skeletal muscle insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. The present study investigated the effect of miR‑29a on palmitic acid (PA)‑induced lipid metabolism dysfunction and insulin resistance in C2C12 myotubes via overexpressing or silencing of miR‑29a expression. Mouse C2C12 myoblasts were cultured, differentiated and transfected with miR‑29a or miR‑29a inhibitor lentiviral with or without subsequent palmitic acid (PA) treatment. Reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‑qPCR) and western blot analysis were performed to assess the mRNA and protein levels of related genes, respectively. PA treatment increased the expression of miR‑29a in a time‑ and dose‑ dependent manner. miR‑29a silencing improved insulin‑induced glucose uptake and increased glucose transporter‑4 (GLUT4) transportation to the plasma membrane by upregulating its target peroxisome proliferator‑activated receptor δ (PPARδ). Furthermore, it was observed that miR‑29a regulated the expression of genes associated with lipid metabolism, including pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase isoform, mitochondrial uncoupling protein (UCP)2, UCP3, long chain specific acyl‑CoA dehydrogenase, mitochondrial and fatty acid transport protein 2. The results confirmed that silencing miR‑29a induced a decrease in glucose transport and affected lipid metabolism in PA‑treated C2C12 cells, and therefore may be involved in insulin resistance by targeting PPARδ in skeletal muscle. Therefore, the inhibition of miR‑29a may be a potential novel strategy for treating insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.