Mechanisms by which hepatocyte extracellular miRNAs mediate peripheral insulin sensitivity

Obesity-induced insulin resistance is the major determinant of metabolic syndrome, which precedes the development of Type 2 diabetes mellitus and is thus the driving force behind the emerging diabetes epidemic. Current anti-diabetic therapeutics are available, but are inadequate to control the disease in most patients and there is a large unmet medical need for better methods of treating diabetes to prevent morbidity and mortality. Our recent work has led to the discovery that obesity induces a dynamic change in secretion of hepatic extracellular vesicle (EV) miRNAs that exert profound impacts on insulin producing cells and peripheral insulin sensitivity. Depletion of hepatic extracellular miRNAs in the hepatocyte-specific Rab27KO mice resulted in impaired glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity at the early onset of obesity. We further demonstrated that 4wks high-fat diet feeding (4wks-HFD)-induced hepatic EV miRNAs can reduce the insulin resistance of obese recipient mice. In addition, the 4wks-HFD EV treatment significantly enhanced the insulin secretion and proliferation of beta cells in vitro and in vivo. By contrast, prolonged obesity induced secretion of pathogenic hepatocyte EV miRNAs that blunted insulin sensitivity of lean recipient WT mice. Consistently, the mice without hepatic extracellular miRNAs by knockout of hepatic Rab27 showed a reduction in insulin resistance after 16 weeks HFD feeding. miRNA-free EVs derived from YBX1KO hepatocytes had minimal effects on the metabolic phenotypes of recipient mice, suggesting miRNAs as key cargoes within these EVs. Using a novel thiouracil tagging method, we identified that miR-3075-5p, a highly enriched miRNAs in 4wks-HFD EVs, can be efficiently incorporated into target cells and improves cellular insulin responses through repressing Fa2h expression. In addition, the miR-434-3p-Map2k6 regulatory axis plays a critical role in promoting proinflammatory activation of macrophages, which can subsequently exacerbate tissue inflammation and insulin resistance. These results lead to the conclusion that hepatic EV miRNAs are important endocrine molecules regulating functions of insulin-producing and -targeting cells in obesity. This proposal sees to build on this newly identified hepatic EV miRNAs regulatory system to reveal the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of obesity-induced insulin resistance. We will further determine the mechanisms by which hepatic EV miRNAs modulate functions of beta cell and insulin sensitizing cells in response to obesity. With the proposed experiments, we will develop miR-3075-5p as an insulin sensitizer molecule and explore the pathogenic effect of miR-434-3p in obesity. This therapeutic strategy could be used for the treatment of obese patients with insulin resistance pre-diabetic state. This would lead to improved glycemic control adding a new component in our therapeutic armamentarium for the treatment of this widespread metabolic disease. Finally, using the thiouracil tagging method, we will identify the hepatic extracellular miRNAs in circulation as biomarkers predicting the insulin resistance state in obesity.