Salvianolic acid B plays an anti-obesity role in high fat diet-induced obese mice by regulating the expression of mRNA, circRNA, and lncRNA

PeerJ. 2019 Feb 28:7:e6506. doi: 10.7717/peerj.6506. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

Background: Adipose tissue plays a central role in obesity-related metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes. Salvianolic acid B (Sal B), a water-soluble ingredient derived from Salvia miltiorrhiza, has been shown to reduce obesity and obesity-related metabolic diseases by suppressing adipogenesis. However, the role of Sal B in white adipose tissue (WAT) is not yet clear.

Methods: Illumina Hiseq 4000 was used to study the effects of Sal B on the expression of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) and circular RNA (circRNA) in epididymal white adipose tissue induced by a high fat diet in obese mice.

Results: RNA-Seq data showed that 234 lncRNAs, 19 circRNAs, and 132 mRNAs were differentially expressed in WAT under Sal B treatment. The up-regulated protein-coding genes in WAT of the Sal B-treated group were involved in the insulin resistance pathway, while the down-regulated genes mainly participated in the IL-17 signaling pathway. Other pathways may play an important role in the formation and differentiation of adipose tissue, such as B cell receptor signaling. Analysis of the lncRNA-mRNA network provides potential targets for lncRNAs in energy metabolism. We speculate that Sal B may serve as a potential therapeutic approach for obesity.

Keywords: Adipose tissue; Obesity; Sal B; circRNA; lncRNAs.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81774171), the Beijing Municipal Education Commission scientific research and graduate training to build projects (1000062520025), the Tangshan Science and Technology Innovation Team Training Program (18130219A), the Chaoyang District Collaborative Innovation Project (CYXC1719) and the Horizontal subject of Zhong Fu Boai Health management (Beijing) Co., Ltd (218007171720024). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.