Obesity-associated miR-148a is regulated by cytokines and adipokines via a transcriptional mechanism.

Our previous study revealed that miR-148a, a cyclic adenosine monophosphate-response element binding protein-modulated microRNA that promotes adipocyte differentiation by inhibiting Wnt1, is a biomarker of obesity in human subjects and a mouse model. The present study investigated the expression of miR-148a in human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs-Ad) in response to inflammatory cytokines and adipokines to clarify its underlying mechanism. miR-148a expression was detected using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis and its promoter activity was detected with a luciferase assay. miR-148a expression levels decreased when differentiated hMSCs-Ad were exposed to inflammatory cytokines or adipokines, which suggested that miR-148a may be important in adipocyte metabolism and inflammation. Furthermore, the promoter activity of miR-148a decreased following treatment of cells with inflammatory cytokines or adipokines. The results of the present study indicated a novel role of miR-148a in adipocyte inflammation; therefore, miR-148a may be involved in obesity complications via its own underlying transcriptional mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]