Fig. 2: PKP2 in human adipose tissue.

a The Venn diagram shows the number of genes significantly (FDR <0.05) increased (fold-change >1.2) in four independent datasets containing transcriptional profiling of SC adipose tissue upon surgery^31,32,34 or diet-induced³³ weight loss (WL). b The bean plot shows significant RT-PCR variations affecting SC PKP2 at the baseline (red) and upon surgery-induced WL (purple), and also when patients with obesity were compared to age-matched non-obese (NO) controls (see in Table S1). c Changes in SC PKP2 after surgery-induced WL were confirmed at the protein level (western blot) in a subset of nine participants with morbid obesity, while no significant differences were identified in paired SC-OM fat samples at the baseline. d SC and f OM PKP2 gene expression in subjects segregated according to their BMI and glucose tolerance as NO (BMI <30 kg/m²) and participants with obesity (OB) and normal (NGT) or impaired (IGT) glucose tolerance (see also in Table S2). Association between e SC and g OM PKP2, BMI, and the expression of leptin (LEP) in each depot (see these and other associations in Table S3). Statistical significance for differences between groups of subjects was determined by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s honestly significant difference (HSD) post hoc tests (cross-sectional sample), and by Student’s paired t-test (longitudinal studies). Spearman’s rank-order correlation tests were employed in correlation analyses. h Haematoxylin and eosin, and the immunofluorescent staining of PKP2 in SC and OM fat samples from the same donors depicted differences related to the distribution of adipocyte-specific PKP2 (SC adipose tissue), and its signal located in crown-like structures (red and white arrows) and/or blood vessels (black arrow) within OM fat. The scale bar in optical and immunofluorescent pictures denotes 50 μm length. i Expression of PKP2 in ex vivo isolated SVC and MA from SC and OM fat samples (n = 9 and 18, respectively). The box plot shows 75th to 25th percentiles with the median, and whiskers at maximum and minimum values. Statistical significance was assessed by a two-tailed Fisher’s exact t-test. r.u. relative units; *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01. Source data are provided as a Source data file.