Correlation analysis of key genes and immune infiltration in visceral adipose tissue and subcutaneous adipose tissue of patients with type 2 diabetes in women

Abstract

Immune cell infiltration into adipose tissue (AT) is a key factor in type 2 diabetes (T2DM). However, research on the impact of fat distribution on immune cells and immune responses in women is still lacking. This study used enrichment, protein–protein interaction network, immune cell infiltration, and correlation analysis to compare the similarities and differences between the transcriptome data of visceral AT (VAT) and subcutprotein-proteinaneous AT (SAT) obtained from the omprehensive database of gene expression in women with non-T2DM and T2DM. DEGs with the same biological function in two types of ATs often exhibited different expression trends. SharedVAT-specific and SAT-specific hub genes were mainly associated with transcription factors, monocyte-macrophage markers, and chemokines, respectively. Immune cells affected by both AT types included monocytes, granulocytes, T and B lymphocytes, and NK cells. VAT affected more immune cells, mainly myeloid cells. Shared hub genes in VAT correlated positively with M1 macrophages, suggesting pro-inflammatory effects, while those in SAT correlated negatively with M1 macrophages and lymphocytes, suggesting anti-inflammatory effects. This study provides a theoretical basis for further understanding the correlation between AT and T2DM in women.

Keywords

• Gene Expression Omnibus
• visceral fat tissue
• subcutaneous fat tissue
• type 2 diabetes
• immune infiltration analysis