The impact of Srebf2 deletion on the transcriptional phenotype of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) regulatory T (Treg) cells

Regulatory T (Treg) cells are highly enriched in the visceral adipose tissue (VAT) to maintain metabolic homeostasis, but they are lost during obesity. VAT Treg cells exhibit enhanced Srebf2-dependent cholesterol metabolism compared lymphoid tissue Tregs at steady state, but this metabolic pathway is disrupted during obesity. Therefore, the goal of this study is to determine the impact of Treg-specific Srebf2 deletion on the transcriptional phenotype of bulk Foxp3+ VAT or splenic Tregs. Overall design: Live CD3+ CD4+ Foxp3+ Tregs were purified by FACS sorting from the VAT or spleen of male 25-week-old Foxp3 YFP-cre Srebf2-wt/wt or Srebf2-flox/flox mice for bulk-RNA sequencing.