Cooked pork-derived exosome nanovesicles mediate metabolic disorder—microRNA could be the culprit

In this study, exosomes from cooked meat were extracted by ultra-high-speed centrifugation. Approximately 80% of exosome vesicles were within 20-200 nm. In addition, the surface biomarkers of isolated exosomes were evaluated using flow cytometry. Further studies showed the exosomal microRNA profiles were different among cooked porcine muscle, fat and liver. Cooked pork-derived exosomes were chronically administered to ICR mice by drinking for 80 days. The mice plasma levels of miR-1, miR-133a-3p, miR-206 and miR-99a were increased to varying degrees after drinking exosome enriched water. Furthermore, GTT and ITT results confirmed an abnormal glucose metabolism and insulin resistance in mice. Moreover, the lipid droplets were significantly increased in the mice liver. A transcriptome analysis performed with mice liver samples identified 446 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Functional enrichment analysis found that DEGs were enriched in metabolic pathways. Overall, the results suggest that microRNAs derived form cooked pork may function as a critical regulator of metabolic disorder in mice.

Automated summary

In this study, exosomes from cooked meat were extracted using ultra-high-speed centrifugation, with approximately 80% of the vesicles falling within the range of 20-200 nm. Flow cytometry was used to evaluate the surface biomarkers of the isolated exosomes. Different microRNA profiles were observed in exosomes derived from cooked porcine muscle, fat, and liver. The chronic administration of cooked pork-derived exosomes to mice resulted in increased levels of miR-1, miR-133a-3p, miR-206, and miR-99a in the plasma. The study also revealed abnormal glucose metabolism, insulin resistance, and increased lipid droplets in the mice's liver, indicating that microRNAs from cooked pork may play a critical role in regulating metabolic disorders.