miR-429 Inhibits Differentiation and Promotes Proliferation in Porcine Preadipocytes

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are crucial regulatory molecules for adipogenesis. They contribute to the controlling of proliferation and differentiation of preadipocytes. Previous studies revealed an important role of miR-429 in cell invasion, migration, and apoptosis. Our previous work has shown that the expression of miR-429 in subcutaneous fat can be observed in newly born (3-day-old) Rongchang piglets rather than their adult counterparts (180-day-old). This expression pattern suggests that miR-429 might be functionally related to postnatal adipogenesis. However, we currently lack a mechanistic understanding of miR-429 within the context of preadipocyte differentiation. In this study, we investigated the function of miR-429 in porcine subcutaneous and intramuscular preadipocyte proliferation and differentiation. In our porcine preadipocyte differentiation model, miR-429 expression decreased remarkably upon adipogenic induction. Overexpression of miR-429 notably down-regulated the expression of adipogenic marker genes: PPARγ, aP2, FAS and impaired the triglyceride accumulation, while the expression of lipolytic gene ATGL was not affected. In addition, we observed that miR-429 significantly promoted the proliferation of porcine preadipocytes. We also found that miR-429 could directly bind to the 3'-UTRs of KLF9 and p27, which have been well documented to promote preadipocyte differentiation and repress cell cycle progression. Taken together, our data support a novel role of miR-429 in regulating porcine preadipocyte differentiation and proliferation, and KLF9 and p27 are potent targets of miR-429 during these processes.