microRNA-143 and-223 in obesity

Background: Obesity alters endocrine and metabolic functions of adipose tissue and has been recognized as a chronic inflammatory disease, which in turn may contribute to the development of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, obesity-associated vasculopathy and cardiovascular disease. The pathogenesis of obesity involves many regulatory pathways including transcriptional regulatory networks, including microRNAs.Methods: A total of 83 patients were included in the study. Patients were recruited from a cardiology outpatient clinic and were allocated into 3 age- and sex-matched groups according to their body mass index. Group 1 included 23 morbidly obese, group 230 obese, and group 330 normal or overweight subjects.Results: In our study, we showed that miR-143 and miR-223 levels were significantly lower in groups 1 and 2 than the control group (normal BMI or overweight).Conclusions: Obesity leads to alterations in miRNA expressions and miRNA-143 and -223s can be used as biomarkers for the metabolic changes in obesity. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved