MicroRNA-196a links human body fat distribution to adipose tissue extracellular matrix composition.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Abdominal fat mass is associated with metabolic risk whilst gluteal femoral fat is paradoxically protective. MicroRNAs are known to be necessary for adipose tissue formation and function but their role in regulating human fat distribution remains largely unexplored.

Methods

An initial microarray screen of abdominal subcutaneous and gluteal adipose tissue, with validatory qPCR, identified microRNA-196a as being strongly differentially expressed between gluteal and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue.

Findings

We found that rs11614913, a SNP within pre-miR-196a-2 at the HOXC locus, is an eQTL for miR-196a expression in abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (ASAT). Observations in large cohorts showed that rs11614913 increased waist-to-hip ratio, which was d

SUBMITTER: Hilton C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6607082 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature