miR-22-3p Suppresses Adipocyte Formation of Telomerase Transformed Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (iMSC3) by Regulating Non-targeted MAPK Signaling Pathway

Unraveling molecular mechanisms that govern adipocyte formation will lead to a greater understanding of obesity and subsequent treatment.In the current study, we assessed the effects of miR-22-3p, a non-coding RNA, on adipocyte differentiation from telomerase-transformed Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (iMSC3).The transfection of iMSC3 with miR-22-3p suppressed adipocyte differentiation as evident by reduction in lipid content and number of lipid droplets.While AKT3 is reported to be a target of miR-22-3p, our study indicated otherwise.Moreover, while miR-22-3p is known to target more than 500 genes, MAPK has not been identified as one of the more than 500 gene targets of miR-22-3p, though this pathway was upregulated in transfected iMSC3 that differentiated to adipocytes.Finally, miR-22-3p was observed to suppress adipocytes and was involved in adipocyte differentiation through non-targeted MAPK pathway upregulation rather than AKT3-related processes.