MicroRNA Transcriptomes Relate Intermuscular Adipose Tissue to Metabolic Risk

• Main Authors: Mingzhou Li, Xuewei Li, Anan Jiang, Lei Chen, Jinyong Wang, Jian Xiao, Yanzhi Jiang, Lin Bai, Shuzhen Yu, Fengjiao Wang, Jideng Ma
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2013-04-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: intermuscular adipose tissue (IMAT); metabolic risk; miRNA; pig; immune response; inflammation response; obesity; transcriptome
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/14/4/8611

Intermuscular adipose tissue is located between the muscle fiber bundles in skeletal muscles, and has similar metabolic features to visceral adipose tissue, which has been found to be related to a number of obesity-related diseases. Although various miRNAs are known to play crucial roles in adipose deposition and adipogenesis, the microRNA transcriptome of intermuscular adipose tissue has not, until now, been studied. Here, we sequenced the miRNA transcriptomes of porcine intermuscular adipose tissue by small RNA-sequencing and compared it to a representative subcutaneous adipose tissue. We found that the inflammation- and diabetes-related miRNAs were significantly enriched in the intermuscular rather than in the subcutaneous adipose tissue. A functional enrichment analysis of the genes predicted to be targeted by the enriched miRNAs also indicated that intermuscular adipose tissue was associated mainly with immune and inflammation responses. Our results suggest that the intermuscular adipose tissue should be recognized as a potential metabolic risk factor of obesity.