IDENTIFICATION OF DIFFERENTIALLY REGULATED microRNAs IN A GENETICALLY OBESE RAT MODEL AND THEIR AFFINITIES TO POTENTIAL TARGET GENES

Obesity and diabetes are some of the most prevalent non-communicable disease conditions that claimed a heavy toll on life in recent years. Understanding the complex molecular mechanism of onset and progress of obesity is important for developing appropriate therapeutics. Several studies on mouse and rat models established the essential and regulating roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the pathophysiology of obesity and diabetes. Using an indigenous obese rat model (WNIN-Ob), we aimed to identify differentially expressed miRNAs and possible targeting capability of those miRNAs for selected important genes associated with obesity and diabetes. Several miRNAs were found to be up-regulated and down-regulated in the adipose and liver tissue of WNIN-Ob rats. Simultaneously, miRNA-target gene network analyses revealed that ARNT2, mTOR, CAPN10, IRS1 were some of the most important selected genes that were targeted by the up-regulated and down-regulated miRNAs. The information reported herein may help in further understanding the mechanisms of development of obesity and future miRNA-based therapeutics.