CHAPTER 9: MicroRNAs in Endocrine Disorders

The endocrine system is a network of glands that produces and releases hormones, which helps to control many important body functions. The diseases associated with the endocrine system may result from a dysfunction at different levels during release or action of the hormones. The burdens of endocrine disease such as obesity or type 2 diabetes are believed to arise through a complex interplay between genetics and epigenetic predisposition, environment, nutrition, as well as lifestyle. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanisms for the onset of endocrine disease will provide new insights for prevention and treatment of these endocrine disorders. There is a growing concern about the dysregulation of micro-RNAs (miRNAs) in endocrine diseases. miRNAs are short noncoding RNA molecules that post-transcriptionally repress the expression of genes by binding to 3′-untranslated regions of the target mRNAs. This chapter aims to provide recent data about the potential involvement of miRNAs in endocrine diseases, such as metabolic syndrome (obesity and type 2 diabetes) or neuroendocrine disorders.