Table 1.
List of miRNAs specific for gWAT and BAT in QTL, selected putative target genes and genetic variants in regulative elements identified by histone marks. Chromosomes, target genes, and traits linked to obesity and T2D are shown. Targets with experimental evidence by HITS-CLIP (*), in vitro assay (**), or luciferase assay (***). gWAT: gonadal white adipose tissue; scWAT: subcutaneous white adipose tissue; BAT: brown adipose tissue; NAFLD: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; BW: body weight; NASH: non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; DEG: differently expressed gene.
| miRNA | Chr. | Putative targets | Traits | Related | Target genes | Genetic variants |
Genomic organisation | Host gene DEG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Promoter | Enhancer | ||||||||
| gWAT-specific miRNAs | |||||||||
| miR-15b | 3 | 402 | gWAT weight | NAFLD [37] | Prkag2 | – | 2 | host gene (Smc4) | No |
| miR-31 | 4 | 416 | BW & gWAT weight | diabetes [38] | Foxo1*, Slc2a4***, Prkaa1* | – | 2 | host gene (LOC106557447) | No |
| miR-744 | 11 | 528 | lean mass | NASH [39] | Lep, Il13, Il17b | – | 4 | host gene (Map2k4) | No |
| miR-30b | 15 | 179 | scWAT weight | beige fat & browning [40] | Socs3*, Tnf*, Pik3cd*, Ucp1*** | – | 10 | miRNA cluster | – |
| BAT-specific miRNAs | |||||||||
| miR-491 | 4 | 132 | BW & lean mass | – | – | – | 1 | host gene (Focad) | No |
| miR-455 | 4 | 291 | BW & lean mass | enhanced adipogenesis [41] | Irs3, mTor | – | 11 | host gene (Col27a1) | Yes |
| miR-423-5p | 11 | 401 | BAT weight | hepatic gluconeogenesis [72] | Hk3, Il17rb, Il18r1 | – | – | host gene (Nsrp1) | No |
| miR-132-3p | 11 | 72 | BAT weight | down regulated in obesity [43] | Map3k12, Sos1 | 7 | 37 | miRNA cluster | – |
| miR-365-3p | 11 | 113 | BAT weight | brown adipocyte differentiation [44] | – | – | – | intergenic | – |
| miR-30b | 15 | 179 | scWAT weight | beige fat & browning [40] | Socs3*, Tnf*, Pik3cd*, Ucp1*** | – | 12 | miRNA cluster | – |