Endocrine Abstracts

New evidence indicated that miRNAs may contribute to the regulation of energy balance and metabolic homeostasis, by controlling a wide range of metabolic pathways. miR-143 and miR-34a are the best studied among the miRNAs linked to adipose tissue regulation. Dietary intake, among many other environmental factors, is a key player that can induce epigenetic changes. The aim of the study was to investigate the association of the miR-143 and miR-34a expression in visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissues with habitual fat and oil intakes. Visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissues were obtained from 97 subjects (41 non-obese, 18 obese, and 38 morbid obese), who underwent open abdominal surgery with minimal impact on dietary intake. Intake of hydrogenated and non-hydrogenated vegetable oils and butter were collected by using a valid and reliable food frequency questionnaire. The expressions of miR-143 and miR-34a in visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissues were analyzed by Real-Time PCR. Linear regression models were used to estimate the association of dietary hydrogenated and non-hydrogenated vegetable oils and butter intake with miR-143 and miR-34a expression after adjustment for potential confounding variables. The gene expression of miR-34a was more increased in morbid obese than obese subjects in both subcutaneous (13.3 vs 11.3, P < 0.002) and visceral (13.4 vs 9.2, P < 0.001) adipose tissues. There was no association of the miR-143 and miR-34a expression in both adipose tissue in total population. After adjustment for total energy intake, insulin, triglycerides, and age, visceral adipose tissue miR-143 gene expression was positively with total fat and oil intake (β = 0.334, P = 0.024) in the total population. The expression of miR-143 in visceral adiposity among morbid obese participants was negatively associated with non-hydrogenated vegetable oils (β = -0.317, P = 0.036), and directly associated with butter (β = 0.503, P = 0.002) intake. The miR-34a expression among morbid obese participants was associated with total fats and oils (r = 0.534, P < 0.001) and non-hydrogenated oil (β = 0.443, P = 0.008) in visceral adipose tissue. Moreover, we found significant association of miR-143 expression in subcutaneous adipose tissue with butter in both morbid obese and non-obese participants. An increase in miR-143 and miR-34a expression by total fats and oils, may explain development of obesity through high fat diet. A decrease in expression of miR-143 by non-hydrogenated oils would justify a lower adipogenic capacity and, would therefore contribute to the decrease of fat stores observed in adipose tissue with higher intake of fatty acids contains of non-hydrogenated oils.