The biological effects of hsa-miR-1908 in human adipocytes

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs involved in the regulation of gene expression. MiR-1908 is a recently identified miRNA that is highly expressed in human adipocytes. However, it is not known what role of miR-1908 is involved in the regulation of human adipocytes. In this study, we demonstrate that the level of miR-1908 increases during the adipogenesis of human multipotent adipose-derived stem (hMADS) cells and human preadipocytes-visceral. Overexpression of miR-1908 in hMADS cells inhibited adipogenic differentiation and increased cell proliferation, suggesting that miR-1908 is involved in the regulation of adipocyte cell differentiation and metabolism, and, thus, may have an effect on human obesity.