Over 40% of
microRNAs (
miRNAs) are located in introns of
protein-coding genes, and many of these intronic
miRNAs are co-regulated with their host genes. In such cases of co-regulation, the products of host genes and their intronic
miRNAs can cooperate to coordinately regulate biologically important pathways. Therefore, we screened intronic
miRNAs dysregulated in the livers of mouse models of
obesity to identify previously uncharacterized
protein-coding host genes that may contribute to the pathogenesis of
obesity-associated
insulin resistance and
type 2 diabetes mellitus. Our approach revealed that expression of both the gene encoding
ectodysplasin A (Eda), the causal gene in X-linked
hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (XLHED), and its intronic
miRNA, miR-676, was increased in the livers of obese mice. Moreover, hepatic EDA expression is increased in obese human subjects and reduced upon
weight loss, and its hepatic expression correlates with systemic
insulin resistance. We also found that reducing miR-676 expression in db/db mice increases the expression of
proteins involved in
fatty acid oxidation and reduces the expression of inflammatory signaling components in the liver. Further, we found that Eda expression in mouse liver is controlled via PPARγ and RXR-α, increases in circulation under conditions of
obesity, and promotes JNK activation and inhibitory
serine phosphorylation of IRS1 in skeletal muscle. In accordance with these findings, gain- and loss-of-function approaches reveal that liver-derived EDA regulates systemic
glucose metabolism, suggesting that EDA is a hepatokine that can contribute to impaired skeletal muscle
insulin sensitivity in
obesity.