These results unveil a novel mechanism whereby miR-15b is linked causally to the pathogenesis of hepatic insulin resistance in SFA-induced obesity.

Diets containing a high saturated fatty acid (SFA) increase the risk of metabolic diseases, and microRNAs (miRNAs) induced by SFA have been implicated in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. In a previous report, miR-96 is found to be upregulated by SFA and involved in the suppression of insulin signaling intermediates, leading to insulin resistance in hepatocytes (Yang et al., 2016) [1]. This article presents the accompanying data collected from L6-GLUT4myc myocytes to determine the effects of miR-96 on insulin signaling in skeletal muscle cells. The transfection of miR-96 decreased the expression of IRS-1 in myocytes. Accordingly, miR-96 inhibited the insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of IRS-1, which led to an impairment of insulin signaling. More detailed analysis and understanding of the roles of miR-96 in diet-induced insulin resistance can be found in "Induction of miR-96 by dietary saturated fatty acids exacerbates hepatic insulin resistance through the suppression of INSR and IRS-1" (Yang et al., 2016) [1].

Dietary fats rich in saturated fatty acid (SFA) increase the risk of metabolic diseases, and certain microRNAs (miRNAs) dysregulated by SFA are associated with the pathogenesis of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. A previous study found that miR-195 is increased by SFA and impairs hepatic insulin signaling through the suppression of INSR (Yang et al., 2014) [1]. This article reports accompanying data to determine the effect of miR-195 on the expression of PEPCK, a key player in hepatic gluconeogenesis. The transfection of miR-195 in HepG2 hepatocytes was found to increase the mRNA and protein expression of PEPCK. Moreover, the insulin-stimulated reduction of PEPCK expression was attenuated drastically by miR-195. More detailed analysis and understanding of the role of miR-195 in diet-induced hepatic insulin resistance can be found in "Saturated fatty acid-induced miR-195 impairs insulin signaling and glycogen metabolism in HepG2 cells" (Yang et al., 2014) [1].

Obesity and metabolic diseases are closely associated with insulin resistance. Obesity-induced miRNAs are also considered to be potential contributors to the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Previously, the expression of miR-1271 was reported to be upregulated in the liver of diet-induced obese mice (Yang et al., 2016) [1]. In this data article, multiple in silico analysis predicted FOXO1 gene to be a direct target of miR-1271. Dual luciferase reporter gene analysis showed that miR-1271 suppressed FOXO1 expression by direct binding to 3′UTR. The overexpression of miR-1271 reduced the protein expression of FOXO1, thereby reducing the transcription of PEPCK, a downstream target of FOXO1. The data is related to a research article entitled "MiR-1271 upregulated by saturated fatty acid palmitate provokes impaired insulin signaling by repressing INSR and IRS-1 expression in HepG2 cells" (Yang et al., 2016) [1].

The ectopic expression of miR-15b is linked causally to impaired insulin signaling in human HepG2 hepatocytes through the suppression of INSR (Yang et al., 2015) [1]. In this data article, we further examined the effect of miR-15b on insulin signaling in a murine skeletal muscle cells, C2C12 myocytes. Although the 3’UTR of mouse INSR mRNA has an appropriate binding site for miR-15b based on TargetScan analysis, the ectopic expression of miR-15b did not suppress the expression and insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of insulin signaling intermediates in C2C12 myocytes. A more detailed understanding of the effects of miR-15b on hepatic insulin resistance can be found in “Obesity-induced miR-15b is linked causally to the development of insulin resistance through the repression of the insulin receptor in hepatocytes” (Yang et al., 2015) [1].