microRNA expression data from liver samples of mice fed with a high fat diet for 24 weeks

Although the global prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes is rising, the molecular mechanisms of dysregulated glucose and lipid metabolism are still incompletely understood. Epigenetic mechanisms were shown to have an impact in disease manifestation, but the underlying hepatic miRNA expression signature is not completely elucidated. We used microarrays to perform a comprehensive screen of the complete microRNA transcriptome in liver samples of diet induced obese (DIO) mice in order to identify expressed microRNAs that might target genes of hepatic lipid and glucose metabolism. Total RNA extracted from liver samples of DIO mice that were fed with a 58 % high fat diet (HFD) for 24 weeks were used for microarray measurement in order to establish a database for the murine microRNA expression pattern.