Endocrine Abstracts

Context: Obesity is a global epidemic and an independent risk factor for several metabolic disorders. Emerging evidence suggests a role for epigenetic factors, such as microRNAs (miRNAs), in the development of obesity. MiRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression. Moreover, circulating miRNAs are potential noninvasive biomarkers because they are stable in body fluids and can be detected using validated techniques, such as quantitative PCR. However, the identification of the specific miRNA expression profile involved in obesity remains incomplete.

Objective: To investigate a miRNA expression profile in plasma of patients with obesity compared to non-obese individuals.

Design: In this case-control study, the expression of 96 miRNAs was investigated in plasma of 54 age- and gender-matched subjects: 34 patients with obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m²) and 20 non-obese individuals (BMI < 25 kg/m²) using miRCURY LNA miRNA Custom PCR Panels (Exiqon). Body mass composition was estimated by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 20.0.

Results: Seven miRNAs (miR-142-5p, miR-146a-3p, miR-15a-5p, miR-22-3p, miR-29c-3p, miR-33b-5p, and miR-375) were significantly downregulated (P< 0.05) in plasma of patients with obesity compared to non-obese individuals. MiR-146a-3p, miR-22-3p, and miR-33b-5p were negatively associated with body fat percentage. MiR-146a-3p and miR-22-3p were also correlated with waist circumference. Moreover, miR-146a-3p expression was also negatively associated with visceral adipose tissue mass.

Conclusions: Our study demonstrates a differentially expression of miRNAs in patients with obesity, and some miRNAs are also associated with adiposity parameters. MiRNAs could constitute potential biomarkers and therapeutic target of this metabolic disease for early diagnosis and management.