CD4 and type 2 diabetes mellitus: On the other hand, substantial evidence suggests that inflammatory and CD4+ T cell differentiation are unbalanced in obese patients with T2D,39 which generally suggests that the number of Th17 cells increases in T2D patients.40, 41, 42, 43, 44 Santopaolo et al analyzed residual BM cells from patients undergoing hip replacement surgery and found that CD4+ T-cells were more likely to polarize into proinflammatory Th1 and Th17 cells in the peripheral blood and adipose tissue of T2D patients, and anti-inflammatory Th2 cells were relatively reduced.45