The Role of miR-326 in Adipogenic Differentiation of Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells by Targeting C/EBPα in vitro.

The CCAAT-enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα) plays an important role in adipogenic differentiation of adipose-derived stem cells (ASC). Recent studies have shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) participate in the regulation of self-renewal, proliferation, and multi-directional differentiation of ASCs. In the present study, we analyzed the targeting miRNAs on C/EBPα and found that miR-326 played an essential role in it. The results of qPCR confirmed that the expression of miR-326 was reduced in adipogenic differentiation. In addition, the dual-luciferase reporter assay system verified binding between miR-326 and the 3' untranslated region of C/EBPα. Furthermore, transfection of miR-326 into human adipose-derived stem cells caused a significant reduction in C/EBPα. Our results highlight the importance of miR-326 in adipogenic differentiation and provide a reliable basis for clinical treatment of adipose-related diseases. Anat Rec, 2019. © 2019 American Association for Anatomy Anat Rec, 303:2054-2060, 2020. © 2019 American Association for Anatomy.