1 Department of Health, Kinesiology, and Applied Physiology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada, H4B 1R6.
2 Metabolism, Obesity, Nutrition Lab, PERFORM Centre, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada, H4B 1R6.
3 Centre de recherche-Axe maladies chroniques, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Nord-de-l'Ile-de-Montreal, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada, H4J1 C5.
4 Donnelly Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5S 3E1.
5 Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5S 3E1.
6 Division of Geriatric Medicine, McGill University Health Centre-Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada, H4A 3J1.
7 Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, McGill University, Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada, H4A 3J1.
8 Division of Bariatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada, H4J 1C5.

Adipose tissue (AT) immune cells are implicated in the pathology of type 2 diabetes (T2D), and their content likely differs between abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (abSAT), femoral SAT (fmSAT), and visceral adipose tissue (VAT). Therefore, the objective of the current study was to develop an understanding of how immune cell presence differs between abSAT, fmSAT, and VAT depots in females who are lean (NO), have obesity (OB), or have OB + T2D. Premenopausal females were recruited from the community (NO, n = 14) or bariatric surgery clinics (OB, n = 10; OB + T2D, n = 8) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. abSAT and fmSAT were obtained by needle aspiration biopsy in all participants, while VAT was excised from the OB and OB + T2D groups during surgery. AT immune cells were isolated from AT biopsies and stained for quantification via flow cytometry. OB + T2D fmSAT had a greater number of T cells (CD3+) than the NO group, with no difference between the NO and OB groups. We further found that abSAT CD3+, CD3+CD4+, CD3+CD8+, and CD68+CD206+ cells were greater in the OB + T2D group, followed by the OB group and then NO participants. There were no regional differences in T cells, macrophages, natural killer cells, or B cells between individuals with OB and OB + T2D. Our findings indicate that the importance of fmSAT and abSAT T cells in T2D pathogenesis should be further investigated.