Fig. 9: Administration routes affect localized and systemic anti-adiposity effects of KT-NE.

a Schematic illustration delineating various injection strategies in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced mice with obesity. Following the establishment of the HFD-induced obesity model, the C57BL/6 female mice with obesity received six doses of KT-NE via various administration routes (i.v., i.p. and s.c.) over 3 weeks. Subsequent monitoring of body weight growth and abdominal perimeter extended until day 22 (n = 12 biologically independent animals in each group). b Micro-CT showcasing alterations in body fat distribution of mice with obesity on day 1 and day 21. Regions with lower density, symbolized by darker areas, elucidate subcutaneous adipose tissue (purple dotted line frame) and visceral fat depots (yellow dotted line frame). c Abdominal perimeter curve and (d, e) body weight growth curve for mice subjected to KT-NE treatment through i.v., i.p. or s.c. injection. (n = 12 biologically independent animals). Statistical significance was evaluated by an unpaired two-tailed t-test. f, g Representative digital image and (h) corresponding quantification of visceral fat depots from indicated groups (n = 9 biologically independent samples). Statistical significance was evaluated by an unpaired two-tailed t-test. i Quantification of adipose tissue indexes (total mass of adipose tissue/body weight, and total mass of adipose tissue = subcutaneous adipose tissue + visceral fat depots) of indicated groups (n = 9 biologically independent samples). Statistical significance was evaluated by an unpaired two-tailed t-test. j Representative H&E staining images and (k) quantification of adipocyte size of subcutaneous adipose tissue and (l) visceral fat depots. Scale bar=50 μm, and scale bar=25 μm in enlarged images. n = 20 cells examined over 3 independent experiments. Statistical significance was evaluated by an unpaired two-tailed t-test. m Quantification of liver mass of indicated groups (n = 9 biologically independent samples). Statistical significance was evaluated by an unpaired two-tailed t-test. n Representative liver Oil Red O staining images from indicated groups. Scale bar = 50 μm, and scale bar = 12.5 μm in enlarged images. o Serum triglycerides, (p) aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and (q) 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.