AUTHOR=Murgia Nicola , Ma Yuan , Najam Syeda Sadia , Liu Yu , Przybys Joanna , Guo Chenkai , Konopka Witold , Vinnikov Ilya A. 

TITLE=In Vivo Reductionist Approach Identifies miR-15a Protecting Mice From Obesity

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Endocrinology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2022.867929

DOI=10.3389/fendo.2022.867929

ISSN=1664-2392

ABSTRACT=<p>Obesity is a growing medical and social problem worldwide. The control of energy homeostasis in the brain is achieved by various regions including the arcuate hypothalamic nucleus (ARH). The latter comprises a number of neuronal populations including the first order metabolic neurons, appetite-stimulating agouti-related peptide (AgRP) neurons and appetite-suppressing proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons. Using an <italic>in vivo</italic> reductionist approach and POMC<sup>Cre</sup>-dependent CRISPR-Cas9, we demonstrate that miR-15a-5p protects from obesity. Moreover, we have identified <italic>Bace1</italic>, a gene previously linked to energy metabolism imbalance, as a direct target of miR-15a-5p. This work warrants further investigations of non-coding RNA-mediated regulation of energy homeostasis and might contribute to the development of novel therapeutic approaches to treat metabolic diseases.</p>