Background
Obesity is characterized by the excess accumulation of adipose tissues, mainly composed of adipocytes. The differentiation of adipocytes is one of the major events in the process of adipogenesis. Among various adipogenic transcription factors, CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα) and peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) have been identified as essential regulators of adipocyte differentiation.
Conclusion
MiR-142a-3p overexpression facilitated 3T3-L1 preadipocyte differentiation by targeting HMGA1, highlighting the importance of miR-142a-3p, HMGA1 and the miR-142a-3p/HMGA1 axis in adipogenesis.
Methods
RT-qPCR assay was conducted to detect the expression of microRNA-142a-3p (miR-142a-3p), high-mobility group AT-hook 1 (HMGA1) mRNA, C/EBPα mRNA, and PPARγ mRNA. Western blot assay was performed to measure the protein levels of HMGA1, C/EBPα and PPARγ. Bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assay were carried out to explore the interaction between miR-142a-3p and HMGA1.
Results
miR-142a-3p expression was notably increased and HMGA1 expression was markedly reduced during 3T3-L1 preadipocyte differentiation. Functional analysis revealed that miR-142a-3p overexpression promoted 3T3-L1 preadipocyte differentiation. Further investigations on molecular mechanisms showed that HMGA1 was a target of miR-142a-3p in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Moreover, the knockdown of HMGA1 induced 3T3-L1 preadipocyte differentiation. Additionally, HMGA1 silencing abolished miR-142a-3p deficiency-mediated inhibitory effect on 3T3-L1 preadipocyte differentiation.