High expression of an unknown long noncoding RNA RP11-290L1.3 from GDM macrosomia and its effect on preadipocyte differentiation

AIMS: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)-induced macrosomia is predominantly characterized by fat accumulation, which is closely related to adipocyte differentiation. An unknown long noncoding RNA RP11-290L1.3, referred to as RP11, was identified to be dramatically upregulated in the umbilical cord blood of women with GDM-induced macrosomia in our previous study. We conducted this study to identify the function of RP11 in GDM-induced macrosomia. METHODS: The effects of RP11 gain- and loss-of-function on HPA-v (human preadipocytes-visceral) adipogenesis were determined with lentivirus mediated cell transduction. The mRNA and protein expression levels of adipogenesis makers were evaluated by qPCR/Western blot. Then, we performed the microarray and pathway analysis to explore the possible mechanisms by which RP11 regulates adipogenesis. RESULTS: Overexpression of RP11 significantly enhanced adipocyte differentiation and increased the mRNA and protein expression levels of adipogenesis makers, such as PPARγ, SREBP1c, and FASN by qPCR/Western blot. Knockdown of RP11 showed opposite effects. Microarray and pathway analysis showed, after RP11 knockdown, 1612 genes were upregulated, and 583 genes were down-regulated which were found to be mainly involved in metabolic pathways, insulin signaling pathway and MAPK signaling pathway. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the unknown lncRNA RP11 serves as a positive factor on preadipocyte differentiation which could shed light on fetal fat accumulation in GDM.