ACE2 and obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency: Similar findings have been reported: Patel et al. described increased ACE2 protein levels in epicardial AT of patients with obesity and diet-induced obese mice [34]; higher ACE2 gene expression was reported in epicardial and subcutaneous AT of individuals with obesity [35]; and Frühbeck and colleagues showed that ACE2 mRNA increases only in visceral and not in the subcutaneous depot of patients with obesity [36].