PMC

T-bet-Deficient Mice Have Better Glucose Tolerance and Are More Insulin Sensitive
(A–C) Fasting glycemia (A) and insulin (B) levels and HOMA-IR (C) in WT and T-bet^−/− mice after 14 weeks of LFD or HFD (n = 10–15).
(D–F) IPGTT from WT and T-bet^−/− mice after 18 weeks of (D) LFD feeding or (E) HFD feeding, and (F) the corresponding area under the curve (n = 8–14).
(G–I) ITT with WT and T-bet^−/− mice after 19 weeks of (G) LFD feeding or (H) HFD feeding, and (I) the corresponding area under the curve (n = 8–14). Data represent means ± SEM; ^∗p < 0.05, ^∗∗p < 0.01, ^∗∗∗p < 0.005, ^###p < 0.005; two-way ANOVA.

T-bet-Deficient Mice Have Increased Body Weight and Modified Fat Distribution, Independently of Diet
(A) Body weights of WT and T-bet^−/− mice at the start (8 weeks old) and after 20 weeks of LFD and HFD.
(B) Cumulative food intake of WT and T-bet^−/− mice during the 20 weeks of LFD and HFD feeding.
(C) Weights of PG WAT, mesenteric fat pad (Mes WAT), SC WAT, and the sum of these weights (Total WAT) from WT and T-bet^−/− mice after 20 weeks of LFD and HFD (n = 12–17).
(D) Representative H&E staining of PG WAT from WT and T-bet^−/− mice after 20 weeks of LFD and HFD.
(E) Adipocyte diameter measurement of PG WAT from WT and T-bet^−/− mice after 20 weeks of LFD and HFD (n = 5).
(F) Fasting leptin levels in WT and T-bet^−/− mice after 14 weeks of LFD and HFD (n = 10–15). Data represent means ± SEM; ^∗p < 0.05, ^∗∗p < 0.01, ^∗∗∗p < 0.005. See also .

Similar Glucose Homeostasis and Adipose Immune Cell Infiltration in IFNγ^−/− and IFNγ^−/−xT-bet^−/− Mice
(A–C) Body weights (A), weights of PG WAT and SC WAT fat pads (B), and fasting glycemia and insulin levels (C) in 8-week-old IFNγ^−/− and IFNγ^−/−xT-bet^−/− mice (n = 8).
(D and E) IPGTT (D) and ITT (E) from 6- to 7-week-old IFNγ^−/− and IFNγ^−/−xT-bet^−/− mice (n = 8).
(F) Representative H&E staining of PG WAT from IFNγ^−/− and IFNγ^−/−xT-bet^−/− mice at 8 weeks of age. Adipocytes diameter measurement of PG WAT from IFNγ^−/− and IFNγ^−/−xT-bet^−/− mice at 8 weeks of age (n = 5).
(G and H) Flow cytometric analyses of the SVF extracted from (G) PG WAT and (H) SC WAT of 8-week-old IFNγ^−/− and IFNγ^−/−xT-bet^−/− mice. The numbers of immune cells (CD45⁺), CD3⁺ CD4⁺ T cells, CD3⁺ CD8⁺ T cells, B cells (B220⁺), NK cells (CD3⁻ NKp46⁺), and macrophages (CD11b⁺ F4/80⁺) are expressed per gram of PG WAT and SC WAT (n = 8). Data represent means ± SEM; ^∗∗p < 0.01, ^∗∗∗p < 0.005. See also .

Reduced Activity, Increased Insulin Sensitivity, and Depot-Specific Differences in Immune Cell Numbers in Young T-bet^−/− Mice
(A–C) Energy expenditure (A), locomotor activity (B), and thermogenic response to energy load (C) in 14-week-old WT and T-bet^−/− mice (n = 5–6).
(D–F) Body weights (D), weights of PG WAT and SC WAT fat pads (E), and fasting glycemia and insulin levels (F) in 8-week-old WT and T-bet^−/− mice (n = 8–10).
(G and H) IPGTT (G) and ITT (H) from 6- to 7-week-old WT and T-bet^−/− mice (n = 8–9).
(I and J) Flow cytometric analyses of the SVF extracted from (I) PG WAT and (J) SC WAT of 8-week-old WT and T-bet^−/− mice. The numbers of immune cells (CD45⁺), CD3⁺ CD4⁺ T cells, CD3⁺ CD8⁺ T cells, B cells (B220⁺), NK cells (CD3⁻ NKp46⁺), and macrophages (CD11b⁺ F4/80⁺) are expressed per gram of PG WAT and SC WAT (n = 9). Data represent means ± SEM; ^∗p < 0.05, ^∗∗p < 0.01, ^∗∗∗p < 0.005, ^###p < 0.005; two-way ANOVA. See also and .

T-bet Deficiency in Rag2^−/− Mice Did Not Affect Body Weight or Glucose Homeostasis
(A) Body weights of Rag2^−/− and Rag2^−/−xT-bet^−/− mice at the start (8 weeks old) and after 20 weeks of LFD and HFD.
(B–D) Fasting leptin (B), glycemia (C), and insulin (D) levels in Rag2^−/− and Rag2^−/−xT-bet^−/− mice after 14 weeks of LFD or HFD.
(E–G) IPGTT from Rag2^−/− and Rag2^−/−xT-bet^−/− mice after 18 weeks of (E) LFD feeding or (F) HFD feeding, and (G) the corresponding area under the curve.
(H–J) ITT from Rag2^−/− and Rag2^−/−xT-bet^−/− mice after 19 weeks of (H) LFD feeding or (I) HFD feeding, and (J) the corresponding area under the curve (n = 10–12).
(K) Representative flow cytometric plots showing the percentage of NK cells (CD3⁻ NKp46⁺) isolated from PG WAT depot of Rag2^−/− and Rag2^−/−xT-bet^−/− mice fed the HFD.
(L) Concentrations of IFN-γ secreted from PG WAT culture from Rag2^−/− and Rag2^−/−xT-bet^−/− mice on the LFD or HFD expressed per gram of adipose tissue (n = 4). Data represent means ± SEM; ^∗p < 0.05, ^∗∗p < 0.01, ^∗∗∗p < 0.005. See also .

Role of CD4⁺ T Cells in the Improved Insulin Sensitivity Observed in T-bet^−/− Mice
(A) Representative flow cytometric plots showing the percentage of CD4⁺ Foxp3⁺ T cells in PG WAT and SC WAT of 8-week-old WT and T-bet^−/− mice.
(B) Graphic representation of the percentage of FoxP3⁺ CD4⁺ T cells in PG WAT and SC WAT of 8-week-old WT and T-bet^−/− mice (n = 12).
(C) Relative gene expression levels of Foxp3 in the SVF of PG WAT and SC WAT fat pads from 8-week-old WT and T-bet^−/− mice. The results were normalized to the SVF of PG WAT from WT mice (n = 5).
(E–G) Relative gene expression levels of CXCR3 (D), CXCL9 (E), CXCL10 (F), and CXCL11 (G) in the SVF of PG WAT and SC WAT extracted from 8-week-old WT and T-bet^−/− mice. The results were normalized to SVF of PG WAT from WT mice (n = 5).
(H) Body weights of Rag2^−/− recipient mice 3 weeks post CD4⁺ transfer.
(I and J) IPGTT (I) and ITT (J) from Rag2^−/− recipient mice 2 and 3 weeks post CD4⁺ transfer, respectively (n = 7–8).
(K) Flow cytometric analyses of the SVF from PG WAT and SC WAT fat pads in Rag2^−/− recipient mice. The numbers of CD3⁺ CD4⁺ T cells are expressed per gram of fat pad (n = 7–8). Data represent means ± SEM; ^∗p < 0.05, ^∗∗p < 0.01, ^∗∗∗p < 0.005. See also .

T-bet-Deficient Mice Have Reduced Perigonadal Adipose Tissue Inflammation Independently of Diet
(A) Gating strategy used for flow cytometric analyses of SVF extracted from PG WAT and SC WAT. After the lymphocyte gate was defined with size (forward scatter [FSC]) and granularity (side scatter [SSC]) parameters, CD45⁺ cells were gated and the expression of different markers (CD3, CD4, CD8, B220, and NKp46) was used to identify the different populations. The same methodology was used to analyze the macrophage population after preadipocytes and monocytes were gated with the use of FSC and SSC. Monocytes were identified by CD45 expression and the subsequent expression of CD11b and F4/80 was used to identify macrophages.
(B) Flow cytometric analyses of SVF extracted from PG WAT of WT and T-bet^−/− mice on the LFD or HFD. The numbers of immune cells (CD45⁺), CD3⁺ CD4⁺ T cells, CD3⁺ CD8⁺ T cells, B cells (B220⁺), NK cells (CD3⁻ NKp46⁺), and macrophages (CD11b⁺ F4/80⁺) are expressed per gram of PG WAT (n > 9).
(C) Concentrations of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-10, IL-1β, and IL-6 secreted from PG WAT and SC WAT cultures of WT and T-bet^−/− mice on the LFD or HFD expressed per gram of adipose tissue (n = 8–13). Data represent means ± SEM; ^∗p < 0.05, ^∗∗p < 0.01, ^∗∗∗p < 0.005.