Analysis of the miRNA-22 role in the metabolic alterations induced by high fat diet

Abstract

Currently, obesity is considered the main risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases, dislipydemias, and type 2 diabetes, which may contribute to premature death.Several studies have revealed the important role of the microRNAs (miRNAs) in the development of cardiovascular diseases and metabolic alterations observed in obesity. Recently, our laboratory demonstrated that cardiac hypertrophy induced by high fat diet is accompanied by altered expression of several miRNAs, among which we found miRNA-22 (Guedes et al., 2015). Given that miRNA-22 is involved in the cardiac remodeling and heart failure, and that its expression is increased in cardiac hypertrophy induced by high fat diet, we aimed to charactherize the functional role of miRNA-22 in the development of the cardiac structural and functional alterations induced high fat diet. Then, recently we have started a collaboration with Dr. Da-Zhi Wang from Harvard Medical School, to provide the knockout mice for miRNA-22 (Fapesp process: 2015/21859-5).In addition, considering that some miRNAs exert an important role in metabolic alterations induced by high fat diet, and that miRNA-22 targets PGC1± e PPAR±, which are involved in metabolic processes, it is essential to investigate the functional role of miRNA-22 for the development of the metabolic alterations promoted by high fat diet. In this sense, this project aims to characterize the contribution of miRNA-22 for the development of metabolic alterations induced by high fat diet, by using knockout mice for miRNA-22.