Despite decades of
research,
obesity and diabetes remain major
health problems in the USA and worldwide. Among the many
complications associated with diabetes is an increased
risk of
cardiovascular diseases, including
myocardial infarction and
heart failure. Recently,
microRNAs have emerged as important players in
heart disease and energy
regulation. However, little
work has investigated the
role of
microRNAs in cardiac energy
regulation. Both
human and
animal studies have reported a significant increase in circulating
free fatty acids and
triacylglycerol, increased cardiac reliance on
fatty acid oxidation, and subsequent decrease in
glucose oxidation which all contributes to
insulin resistance and lipotoxicity seen in
obesity and diabetes. Importantly, MED13 was initially identified as a negative regulator of
lipid accumulation in Drosophilia. Various metabolic
genes were downregulated in MED13 transgenic
heart, including
sterol regulatory
element-
binding protein. Moreover, miR-33 and miR-122 have recently revealed as key regulators of
lipid metabolism. In this
review, we
will focus on the
role of
microRNAs in
regulation of cardiac and total body
energy metabolism. We
will also discuss the pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions that target
microRNAs for the
treatment of
obesity and diabetes (AU)