Table 2.
Main miRNAs involved in brite adipocyte regulation and WAT browning and nutritional factors that regulate their expression in human samples/cells.
| Effect on Browning | miRNA | Tissue Sample | Nutritional Factor | Effect of the Nutritional Factor on the Expression of the miRNA | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positive (+) | |||||
| 196a (specific) | Pancreatic cancer cells | Dietary phytochemicals (garcinol) | Modulated miR-196a expression | [42] | |
| 26a/b | Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded lung cancer (144 adenocarcinomas and 120 squamous cell carcinomas) | Intake of quercetin-rich foods (evaluated through a food-frequency questionnaire) | miR-26 expression differentially expressed between highest and lowest quercetin consumers | [43] | |
| Liver (human) | HFD/obesity | ↓ miR-26 expression | [44] | ||
| 32 | Healthy human colorectal epithelium | Non-digestible carbohydrates (resistant starch and polydextrose) supplementation | ↑ miR-32 expression in rectal mucosa | [45] | |
| 455 | Human adipose tissue and blood cells | Obesity & T2D (computational framework miR-QTL-Scan) | BAT specific miR-455 play a role in adipogenesis | [46] | |
| Human adipose tissue (BAT and WAT) from neck | HFD/Obesity and cold-induced thermogenesis | MiR-455 identified as a BAT marker in humans | [47] | ||
| Negative ( − ) | |||||
| 125-5p (specific) | Blood from T2DM and obese patients | Meta-analysis including lifestyle intervention studies | ↓ miR-125-5p in obese patients | [48] | |
| 34a | Human sc WAT (48 subjects) | Three calorie-restricted diets (different amount and quality of carbohydrates): low glycemic index, high glycemic index, and low fat | ↓ miR-34a in waist circumference stratified (tertiles) cohort No changes on miRNA levels between the intervention groups. |
[49] | |
| Liver of male Sprague-Dawley rats | High-fat high-cholesterol (WD) diet supplemented with fish oil (FOH) | ↓ miR-34a in FOH vs. WD | [50] | ||
| Huh-7 (human liver) cells | Cholesterol accumulation associated to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) | ↑ miR-34a expression in liver | [51] | ||
| 155 | THP-1 (human) monocytes/macrophages | Oleic acid | ↑ miR-155 expression in monocytes (vs. DHA) | [52] | |
| 378 | Patients with NASH (liver biopsies) Human HepG2 with accumulated lipid (oleate) |
N.A. Oleate |
↑ miR-378 expression ↑ miR-378 expression |
[53,54] | |
| Muscle biopsies of healthy males | Single bout of concurrent resistance exercise (8 × 5 leg extension, 80% 1RM) + 30 min at ~70% VO2peak with either post-exercise (whey) protein (25 g) or placebo | ↑ miR-378 expression at 4 h post-exercise with protein | [55] |
↑, upregulated; ↓, downregulated.