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. 2018 Apr-Jun;14(2):149-154.
doi: 10.4183/aeb.2018.149.

THE ASSOCIATION OF PLASMA LEVELS OF miR-34a AND miR-149 WITH OBESITY AND INSULIN RESISTANCE IN OBESE CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

F Ahmadpour  1 , M Nourbakhsh  1 , M Razzaghy-Azar  2   3 , Sh Khaghani  4 , B Alipoor  4 , Z Abdolvahabi  1 , M Zangoei  4
Affiliations

THE ASSOCIATION OF PLASMA LEVELS OF miR-34a AND miR-149 WITH OBESITY AND INSULIN RESISTANCE IN OBESE CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

F Ahmadpour et al. Acta Endocrinol (Buchar). 2018 Apr-Jun.

Abstract

Context: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short noncoding RNAs involved in posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression that influence various cellular functions including glucose and lipid metabolism and adipocyte differentiation.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of miR-34a and miR-149 and their relationship with metabolic parameters in obese children and adolescents.

Design: Seventy children and adolescents were enrolled in the study. Plasma levels of microRNAs were evaluated by real-time PCR using SYBR green and analyzed by ΔCt method. Plasma concentrations of visfatin and insulin were measured by ELISA method. Glucose and lipid profile were determined colorimetrically. HOMA-IR was calculated and used as an index of insulin resistance (IR).

Results: miR-34a was significantly lower in subjects with insulin resistance compared to obese children with normal insulin sensitivity. There was an inverse relationship between miR-34a levels and both insulin and HOMA-IR. On the other hand, miR-149 was significantly correlated with visfatin. There was no significant difference in miR-34a and miR-149 between obese and normal weight subjects.

Conclusions: miR-34a is associated with insulin and HOMA-IR and thus seems to be involved in IR. miR-149 is inversely associated with visfatin levels which could be indicative of anti-inflammatory effect of this miRNA.

Keywords: insulin resistance; miR-149; miR-34a; obesity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Real-time quantitative RT-PCR analysis of plasma miR-34a in groups with and without insulin resistance. miR-34a levels were calculated after normalizing with miR-16. P<0.001 compared to subjects without insulin resistance.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
(A) The negative correlation between miR-34a levels and insulin (r=-0.450, p=0.001). (B) The negative correlation between miR-34a levels and HOMA-IR (r=-0.447, p=0.002).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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