IRF5 and obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency: In the present study, increased adipose tissue IRF5 protein expression, as detected by both IHC and CM, was more remarkable in the diabetic obese than diabetic lean/overweight patients which suggests that obesity may play as a positive modulator of adipose IRF5 gene expression in diabetic patients; however, a direct association between adipose IRF5 gene expression and BMI/PBF was more explicit in the diabetic lean/overweight than diabetic obese individuals.