The Physiology of Human Brown Adipose Tissue

Summary

Brown fat is a type of fat, found in both children and adults, which can produce heat and regulate the body's metabolism and energy use. White fat is the more common type of fat which is used to store extra calories. Understanding more about differences between brown and white fat may allow us to develop new approaches to improve the body's metabolism.

Conditions

• Adipose Tissue, Brown
• Adipose Tissue
• Obesity

Interventions

PROCEDURE

Fat biopsy

The fat biopsy is performed during a scheduled procedure at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). Routine preoperative procedures will be followed, including local anesthesia (numbing a particular region of the body) or general anesthesia (being put to sleep). Adipose tissue will be sampled from different depots depending on the procedure. For example, the surgeon will collect adipose tissue from the neck and supraclavicular depots from cervical spine, thyroid, and parathyroid procedures; perinephric fat from adrenalectomies, omental fat from abdominal procedures, and paraspinal fat from lumbar spine procedures. Up to 5 pieces of fat tissue weighing about three to six grams will be removed. All other aspects of the surgical procedure will proceed as planned. Samples will be prepared for subsequent laboratory analysis.

DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Blood sampling

A blood sample will be collected in the fasting state either during preoperative testing or in the preoperative area on the day of planned procedure for measurement of adipose functional markers (leptin, adiponectin) and insulin resistance (insulin, C-peptide), and measures of glycemia (glucose, hemoglobin A1c).

GENETIC

Blood sample for DNA analysis

Targeted resequencing of DNA to identify variants associated with adipose phenotypes will be performed.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Joslin Diabetes Center

  collaborator OTHER

• Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

  collaborator OTHER

• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Mary Elizabeth Patti, MD · Joslin Diabetes Center

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

75 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2020-03-05

Primary Completion

2027-06-30

Completion

2027-06-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations