Gga-miR-21 inhibits chicken pre-adipocyte proliferation in part by down-regulating Kruppel-like factor 5.

Gga-miR-21 is abundantly expressed in chicken pre-adipocytes, but its role is unclear. The present study investigated the role of gga-miR-21 in chicken pre-adipocyte proliferation. Cell proliferation assay and gene expression analysis of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) showed that the gga-miR-21 mimic inhibited pre-adipocyte proliferation. In contrast, the gga-miR-21 inhibitor enhanced pre-adipocyte proliferation. The subsequent investigation identified Kruppel-like factor 5 (KLF5) mRNA as a target of gga-miR-21. The gga-miR-21 mimic inhibited KLF5 3'UTR reporter activity and decreased endogenous KLF5 expression in primary pre-adipocytes. KLF5 knockdown using RNAi had a similar effect to that of the gga-miR-21 mimic on cell proliferation. The promoting effect of the gga-miR-21 inhibitor on pre-adipocyte proliferation was partially attenuated by KLF5 knockdown. Taken together, our results demonstrated that miR-21 inhibits chicken pre-adipocyte proliferation, at least in part, by targeting KLF5.