Figure 2.

A significant reduction of circulating CD45RA⁻FOXP3^hi activated T_reg (aT_reg) cells occurs in obese (Ob) subjects: correlation with body mass index (BMI). Peripheral blood (PB) lymphocytes isolated from lean normal weight (Nw), Ob, lean affected by colorectal cancer (CRC) (Nw/CC), and Ob affected by CRC (Ob/CC) donors were analyzed by flow cytometry. Frequency of regulatory T (T_reg) (CD4⁺FOXP3⁺CD127^low) cells (A) and aT_reg cells (CD4⁺FOXP3^high CD45RA⁻) (B) was estimated in PB of the four groups. Each dot represents an individual donor. Mean ± SEM is shown for each group. *p < 0.05 by analysis of variance. (C) Pearson’s correlation (r) between aT_reg cell frequency and BMI in all subjects (**p < 0.01).