HAND2 and obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency: In search of novel adipose-specific mechanisms linked to human obesity we have previously investigated methylation and gene expression signatures of visceral WAT (visWAT) and subcutaneous WAT (scWAT) and found that the transcription factor HAND2 (heart and neural crest derivatives-expressed 2) is among the most differentially expressed genes [13].