Adipocyte differentiation, which plays an important role in the development of obesity, involves complex molecular networks in which microRNAs (miRNAs) are essential. Here, we show that miR-9 expression was upregulated during adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells. miR-9 overexpression reduced the accumulation of lipid droplets and the content of triglycerides by downregulating patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing protein 3 (PNPLA3). PNPLA3 knockdown or miR-9 overexpression downregulated the protein expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ, oxidative tissue-enrichedPAT, and LC3, and promoted the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which was inhibited by treatment with the AMPK inhibitor compound C. These results indicate that miR-9 inhibits adipocyte differentiation by targeting PNPLA3 through the AMPK pathway.
Keywords: AMPK; Adipogenesis; Autophagy; PNPLA3; miR-9.
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