MicroRNAs as Targets for the Management of Obesity

Obesity is a global health problem and one of the major causes of chronic disorders, such as metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, type-2 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and cardiovascular diseases. Obesity is not only an expansion of adipose tissue but also is accompanied by numerous biochemical changes. For example, several adipokines are secreted from adipose tissue and their levels are altered in obesity. The same is true for many metabolic regulators and epigenetic modifiers, such as microRNAs and inflammatory cytokines. MicroRNAs are short noncoding RNA molecules that generally suppress the expression of various genes by binding to the untranslated regions of their target mRNAs. There is growing evidence that metabolic diseases are associated with dysregulation of microRNAs. These molecules are potentially valuable biomarkers that can assist in accurate diagnostic and/or prognostic procedures as well as drug design. Therefore, this chapter, attempted to review the previous findings regarding the relationship between microRNAs and obesity and its associated metabolic alterations.

Keywords: Adipogenesis, Adipose Tissue, Cardiovascular Disease, Epigenetic, Insulin Resistance, Metabolic Disorders, MicroRNA, Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Obesity, Type-2 Diabetes.