CD52 Regulates Adipose Tissue Function and Exhibits Sex-Specific Effects in Mice
White adipose tissue (WAT) and brown adipose tissue (BAT) play distinct roles in energy metabolism, yet the functions of many genes within these tissues remain incompletely understood. CD52 is a low-molecular-weight glycoprotein composed of 12 amino acids, anchored to the cell membrane via a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) linkage at its C-terminus. Previous studies have reported elevated CD52 expression in adipocytes from obese individuals; however, its specific role and underlying mechanisms remain largely unexplored. In this study, we investigated the function of CD52 in adipose biology by analyzing the effects of CD52 knockout on different adipose tissue types in mice. Through a combination of histological analysis and transcriptomic profiling, we found that CD52 deletion significantly altered gene expression patterns in both WAT and BAT. Moreover, our results revealed marked sex-specific differences, with male and female mice displaying distinct adipose tissue responses to CD52 deficiency. These findings the role of CD52 in the regulation of adipose tissue and suggest its potential involvement in sex-dependent metabolic processes. High-throughput mRNA sequencing was carried out using the BGI DNBSEQ-T7 platform.