Hepatic microRNA Expression by PGC-1α and PGC-1β in the Mouse.

Elena Piccinin,Elena Bellafante,Giusi Graziano,Michele Vacca,Antonio Moschetta,Maria Arconzo,Gaetano Villani,Claudia Peres

doi:10.3390/ijms20225735

Abstract

The fine-tuning of liver metabolism is essential to maintain the whole-body homeostasis and to prevent the onset of diseases. The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivators (PGC-1s) are transcriptional key players of liver metabolism, able to regulate mitochondrial function, gluconeogenesis and lipid metabolism. Their activity is accurately modulated by post-translational modifications. Here, we showed that specific PGC-1s expression can lead to the upregulation of different microRNAs widely implicated in liver physiology and diseases development and progression, thus offering a new layer of complexity in the control of hepatic metabolism.

Highlights

Variations of environmental conditions require a constant but flexible adaptation of an organism
Upregulated in conditions of increased energy demands, these coactivators modulate the expression of several genes involved in mitochondrial biogenesis and function, as well as in other catabolic and anabolic pathways [3]
The liver is probably the organ that best illustrates the different contributions of the members of the PGC-1 family to guarantee whole-body homeostasis

Summary

Introduction

Variations of environmental conditions require a constant but flexible adaptation of an organism. An efficient fed-fast cycle is of fundamental importance, since failure to induce or inhibit the expression of metabolic genes has been associated with the development of diseases [1,2]. In the cell, this is primarily achieved through the activation of a transcriptional machinery that leads to the expression of genes with different metabolic functions. Upregulated in conditions of increased energy demands, these coactivators modulate the expression of several genes involved in mitochondrial biogenesis and function, as well as in other catabolic and anabolic pathways [3]. Even though many studies have been carried out considering their specific implication on liver metabolism, several controversies about the specific functions of different PGC-1 family members still remain

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Results

Conclusion