Cooperative and Independent Functions of the miR-23a-27a-24-2 Cluster in Bovine Adipocyte Adipogenesis

The miR-23a similar to 27a similar to 24-2 cluster is an important regulator in cell metabolism. However, the cooperative and independent functions of this cluster in bovine adipocyte adipogenesis have not been elucidated. In this study, we found that expression of the miR-23a similar to 27a similar to 24-2 cluster was induced during adipogenesis and this cluster acted as a negative regulator of adipogenesis. miR-27a and miR-24-2 were shown to inhibit adipogenesis by directly targeting glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase, mitochondrial (GPAM) and diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2 (DGAT2), both of which promoted adipogenesis. Meanwhile, miR-23a and miR-24-2 were shown to target decorin (DCN), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), and lipoprotein lipase (LPL), all of which repressed adipogenesis in this study. Thus, the miR-23a similar to 27a similar to 24-2 cluster exhibits a non-canonical regulatory role in bovine adipocyte adipogenesis. To determine how the miR-23a similar to 27a similar to 24-2 cluster inhibits adipogenesis while targeting anti-adipogenic genes, we identified another target gene, fibroblast growth factor 11 (FGF11), a positive regulator of adipogenesis, that was commonly targeted by the entire miR-23a similar to 27a similar to 24-2 cluster. Our findings suggest that the miR-23a similar to 27a similar to 24-2 cluster fine-tunes the regulation of adipogenesis by targeting two types of genes with pro- or anti-adipogenic effects. This balanced regulatory role of miR-23a similar to 27a similar to 24-2 cluster finally repressed adipogenesis.