Argonaute-2 is associated to brown adipose tissue activation

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important modulators of thermogenic brown adipose tissue (BAT). They have been involved in its differentiation and hence its functioning. While different regulators of the miRNA machinery have been shown to be essential for BAT differentiation, little is known about their implication in BAT activation. The aim of this work was to evaluate the role of AGO2, the chief miRNA mediator, in BAT activation. We took advantage of two non-genetic models of BAT activation to analyze the miRNA machinery and miRNA expression in BAT. We used principal component analysis (PCA) to obtain an overview of miRNA expression according to the BAT activation state. In vitro, we examined AGO2 expression during brown adipocyte differentiation and activation. Finally, we downregulated AGO2 to reveal its potential role in the thermogenic function of brown adipocytes. PCA analysis allowed to cluster animals on their miRNA signature in active BAT. Moreover, hierarchical clustering showed a positive correlation between global upregulation of miRNA expression and active BAT. Consistently, the miRNA machinery, particularly AGO2, was upregulated in vivo in active BAT and in vitro in mature brown adipocytes. Finally, the partial loss-of-function of AGO2 in mature brown adipocytes is sufficient to lead to a diminished expression of UCP1 associated to a decreased uncoupled respiration. Therefore, our study shows the potential contribution of AGO2 in BAT activation. Since BAT is a calorie-burning tissue these data have a translational potential in terms of therapeutic target in the field of altered fuel homeostasis associated to obesity and diabetes.