Fig. 7: Subcutaneous administration of KT-NE elicits anti-obesity effects.

a Schematic representation of therapeutic interventions in a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity model in female C57BL/6 mice. Following the establishment of the HFD-induced obesity model, the mice with obesity received a total of six subcutaneous doses of various formulations over 3 weeks (multi-point). Body weight gain and abdominal perimeter were monitored until day 22 (n = 12 biologically independent animals in each group). b Abdominal perimeter curves and (c, d) body weight growth curve for mice receiving different formulations. (n = 12 biologically independent animals). Statistical significance was evaluated by an unpaired two-tailed t-test. e Micro-CT results depicting changes in body fat distribution in mice with obesity on day 1 and day 21. Darker areas indicate regions of lower density, with subcutaneous adipose tissue delineated by the purple dotted line frame and visceral fat depots by the yellow dotted line frame. f Representative digital image and (g) corresponding quantification of bilateral inguinal subcutaneous adipose tissue from indicated groups. (n = 10 biologically independent animals). Statistical significance was evaluated by an unpaired two-tailed t-test. h Quantification of adipose tissue indexes (total mass of adipose tissue/body weight, and total mass of adipose tissue = subcutaneous adipose tissue + visceral fat depots) for indicated groups. (n = 9 biologically independent animals). Statistical significance was evaluated by an unpaired two-tailed t-test. i Representative H&E staining images and (j) quantification of adipocyte size in subcutaneous adipose tissue and (k) visceral fat depots. Scale bar = 50 μm, and scale bar = 25 μm in enlarged images. n = 20 cells examined over three independent experiments. Statistical significance was evaluated by an unpaired two-tailed t-test. l Serum triglycerides, (m) aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and (n) alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels detected by commercial reagent kits (n = 8 biologically independent samples). Source data are provided as a Source Data file. Statistical significance was evaluated by an unpaired two-tailed t-test. All data was expressed as mean ± SD, ns no significance.