MiR-193b and miR-365-1 are not required for the development and function of brown fat in the mouse

Abstract

Generating heat and maintaining body temperature is the primary function of brown adipose tissue (BAT). Previous studies have implicated microRNAs, including miR-193b and miR-365-1, in BAT differentiation. We used mouse genetics to further understand the specific contributions of these two miRs. BAT function in mice with an inactivated miR-193b-365-1 locus, as determined by their response to the selective β3 adrenergic receptor agonist CL316.243 and their tolerance to cold exposure, was normal and expression of genes associated with functional BAT, including Prdm16 and Ucp1, was unaffected. In addition, genome-wide expression profiles of miRNAs and mRNAs in BAT in the presence and absence of miR-193b-365-1 were determined. In summary, these data demonstrate, in contrast to earlier work, that the development, differentiation, and function of BAT do not require the presence of miR-193b and miR-365-1.

Keywords: :

• RNA-seq
• brown fat
• gene knock-out
• miR-193b
• mouse

10.4161/rna.27239

Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the NIDDK and NCI Intramural Research Programs. We acknowledge Tatyana Chanturiya for technical support, Kai Ge (NIDDK) and Vittorio Sartorelli (NIAMS) for reagents and advice, Marc Reitman for scientific input and Michael Rieger for comments. N.H. was supported by the German Jose Carreras Leukemia Foundation (DJCLS R11/02) and by the LOEWE Center for Cell and Gene Therapy Frankfurt, Hessisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst (III L 4- 518/17.004 (2010) and the Georg-Speyer-Haus. 

Contributions

Y Feuermann designed and performed experiments (histology, RNA-seq) and analyzed data; K Kang performed computations analyses; O Gavrilova designed and performed the metabolic experiments; N Haetscher designed and performed miRNA real-time expression experiments; KH Yoo designed and performed real-time qPCR experiments; S Jin Jang performed cold tolerance tests and genotyped mice; C Jiang performed in vitro BAT differentiation experiments; FJ Gonzalez analyzed and interpreted data; GW Robinson analyzed and interpreted data; L Hennighausen designed experiments, analyzed, and interpreted data. This research has been performed by the NIH. All authors participated in writing and editing the manuscript.

Supplemental Materials

Supplemental materials may be found here: www.landesbioscience.com/journals/rnabiology/article/27239/