1 Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph , Guelph, Canada.
2 Department of Health, Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, Concordia University , Montreal, Canada.
3 Metabolism, Obesity, and Nutrition Lab, PERFORM Centre, Concordia University , Montreal, Canada.
4 Centre de recherche - Axe maladies chroniques, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Nord-de-l'Ile-de-Montréal, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal , Montreal, Canada.
5 Division of Geriatric Medicine, McGill University Health Centre , Montreal, Canada.
6 Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, McGill University , Montréal, Canada.

Fatty acid desaturase 1 (FADS1) polymorphisms alter fatty acid content in subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT); however, existing evidence is limited and conflicting regarding the association between FADS1 variants and SAT inflammatory status. To advance this area, we conducted an exploratory study to investigate whether the common rs174537 polymorphism in FADS1 was associated with immune cell profiles in abdominal and femoral SAT in individuals with obesity. FADS1 gene expression and immune cell profiles in SAT depots were assessed by qPCR and flow cytometry, respectively. Although FADS1 gene expression was associated with genotype, no associations were observed with immune cell profiles in either depot. Our study provides additional evidence that rs174537 in FADS1 has minimal impact on inflammatory status in obese SAT.