MiR‐330‐5p negatively regulates ovine preadipocyte differentiation by targeting branched‐chain aminotransferase 2

The differentiation of preadipocytes into adipose tissues is tightly regulated by various factors including microRNAs and cytokines. This article aims to study the effect of miR-330-5p on expression of BCAT2 in ovine preadipocytes. Ovine preadipocytes were isolated, and we found that the miR-330-5p expression decreased gradually during the early differentiation of ovine preadipocytes, while BCAT2 expression increased. BCAT2 was identified as a direct target of miR-330-5p, ectopic expression of miR-330-5p could change the expression of both BCAT2 mRNA and protein. Silencing BCAT2 had the same inhibition effects as overexpressing miR-330-5p on the preadipocyte differentiation, but overexpressing BCAT2 had the converse effects. Taken together, we demonstrated that miR-330-5p is a negative regulator of differentiation by targeting BCAT2, and clarified the role of BCAT2 and miR-330-5p during preadipocyte differentiation.