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A Study of Adipose Tissue in Adaptive Responses to Exercise

The Role of Adipose Tissue in Adaptive Responses to Exercise

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06053125
Enrollment
56
Registered
2023-09-25
Start date
2023-11-09
Completion date
2026-10-31
Last updated
2025-10-23

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Healthy, Obesity

Keywords

exercise, adipose, cytokines

Brief summary

The purpose of this research is to determine how exercise affects fat (adipose) tissue and how changes to adipose tissue that occur during and after exercise might improve health in aging and obesity.

Detailed description

Adipose tissue has important endocrine functions that influence metabolic health. Early evidence shows that adipose adapts to physiological stress, including exercise. The objective here is to determine how exercise-induced alterations in adipose tissue cellular composition and endocrine signaling may contribute to the beneficial adaptations to exercise in aging and obesity. Immune cell populations and inflammatory signatures will be assessed in subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue biopsies collected from obese and normal weight young and older adults before, immediately after, and 3 hours after a 30-min bout of cycling exercise at 70% of maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max). Mass spectrometry, Olink targeted inflammation assays, and RNA sequencing will be used for full proteomic and transcriptomic characterization of the adipose tissue secretome (the proteins and molecules secreted from the adipose tissue) and the cargo of extracellular vesicles isolated from plasma and media collected from cultured human adipose tissue explants generated from each time point. Overall, the primary hypothesis of the proposed work is that a single bout of exercise triggers transient changes in adipose tissue paracrine/endocrine signals and immune cellular composition. The investigators propose that these responses contribute to the beneficial effects of exercise locally and in distal tissues and that the cumulative effects of acute changes in adipose tissue likely contribute to the positive alterations in adipose tissue associated with exercise training.

Interventions

Fat sample collected from abdomen before exercise, immediately after exercise, and 3 hours after exercise

BEHAVIORALExercise

30 minutes of exercise on a cycle ergometer exercise machine

Sponsors

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
CollaboratorNIH
Mayo Clinic
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 85 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Adults between the ages of 18-35 OR 65-85. * BMI 18.5 kg/m2 - 40 kg/m2 * Weight stable (≥ 3 months) * Generally healthy

Exclusion criteria

* Participation in ≥ 30 minutes of structured physical activity ≥ 2 days per week. * Smoking/tobacco use. * Alcohol/substance abuse. * Pregnancy and breastfeeding. * Anemia. * Abnormal renal function. * Blood clotting disorders. * Coronary artery disease. * Uncontrolled thyroid disease. * Liver disease. * Use of medications known to influence the main outcomes of the study. * Orthopedic problems that may be aggravated by exercise. * Chronic disease at the discretion of the investigators.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Protein cargo of adipose extracellular vesicles measured using mass spectrometryPre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and 3 hours after exerciseAdipose tissue samples will be cultured for 3 hours, and the culture media will be removed. From this media, extracellular vesicles will be isolated. In these extracellular vesicles, mass spectrometry will be performed to examine the entire proteome (all proteins) contained within these extracellular vesicles. Using the large number of proteins identified, the investigators will examine changes in categories of protein types (e.g., inflammatory proteins, metabolic proteins, transcriptional proteins).
Adipose tissue gene expression of cluster of differentiation 163 (CD163) measured by PCR.Pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and 3 hours after exerciseGene expression of the anti-inflammatory macrophage marker CD163 will be assessed in adipose tissue samples using RT-PCR.
Adipose tissue gene expression of cluster of differentiation 206 (CD206) measured by PCR.Pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and 3 hours after exerciseGene expression of the anti-inflammatory macrophage marker CD206 will be assessed in adipose tissue samples using RT-PCR.
Adipose tissue gene expression of adhesion G-protein coupled receptor E (ADGRE) measured by PCR.Pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and 3 hours after exerciseGene expression of the macrophage marker ADGRE will be assessed in adipose tissue samples using RT-PCR.
Adipose tissue gene expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (INOS) measured by PCR.Pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and 3 hours after exerciseGene expression of the pro-inflammatory macrophage marker INOS will be assessed in adipose tissue samples using RT-PCR.
Adipose tissue gene expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP1) measured by PCR.Pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and 3 hours after exerciseGene expression of the inflammatory cytokine MCP1 will be assessed in adipose tissue samples using RT-PCR.
Adipose tissue gene expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFa) measured by PCR.Pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and 3 hours after exerciseGene expression of the inflammatory cytokine TNFa will be assessed in adipose tissue samples using RT-PCR.
Adipose tissue gene expression of leptin (LEPD) measured by PCR.Pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and 3 hours after exerciseGene expression of the pro-inflammatory adipokine LEPD will be assessed in adipose tissue samples using RT-PCR.
Adipose tissue gene expression of adiponectin (ADIPOQ) measured by PCR.Pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and 3 hours after exerciseGene expression of the anti-inflammatory adipokine ADIPOQ will be assessed in adipose tissue samples using RT-PCR.
Inflammatory proteins found in adipose tissue measured using the Olink Target Inflammation Panel (includes 96 inflammation-associated proteins)Pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and 3 hours after exerciseThe concentrations of 96 different inflammatory proteins (including various cytokines and adipokines) will be measured in adipose tissue lysates using the targeted inflammation Olink proximity extension assay panel. This assay measures all 96 proteins in a single assay and all are reported as normalized protein expression values.
Adipose lymphocyte populationsPre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and 3 hours after exerciseThe numbers of lymphocytes in the adipose tissue will be assessed by flow cytometry.
IL6 secreted from adipose tissue measured using the Olink Target Inflammation Panel (includes 96 inflammation-associated proteins)Pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and 3 hours after exerciseThe concentration of 96 IL6 will be measured using the targeted inflammation Olink proximity extension assay panel in media obtained from cultured adipose tissue explants. Adipose tissue samples will be cultured for 3 hours, and the culture media will be removed for the assessment of secreted inflammatory proteins. T
Adipose tissue macrophage populationsPre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and 3 hours after exerciseNumbers of macrophages in the adipose tissue will be assessed by immunohistochemistry.
Adipose tissue gene expression of interleukin (IL)-6 measured by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).Pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and 3 hours after exerciseGene expression of the inflammatory cytokine IL-6 will be measured in adipose tissue samples using real time (RT)-PCR.
Adipose tissue gene expression of interleukin (IL)-8 measured by PCR.Pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and 3 hours after exerciseGene expression of the inflammatory cytokine IL-8 will be assessed in adipose tissue samples using real-time (RT)-PCR.
Adipose tissue gene expression of cluster of differentiation 68 (CD68) measured by PCR.Pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and 3 hours after exerciseGene expression of the macrophage marker CD68 be assessed in adipose tissue samples using real time (RT)-PCR.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Plasma IL6 concentrations measured using the Olink Target Inflammation PanelPre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and 3 hours after exerciseThe concentration of IL6 will be measured in plasma samples using the targeted inflammation Olink proximity extension assay panel. This assay measures 96 proteins in a single assay and all are reported as normalized protein expression values.
Protein cargo of plasma extracellular vesicles measured using mass spectrometry extracellular vesiclesPre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and 3 hours after exerciseExtracellular vesicles will be isolated from plasma samples. In these extracellular vesicles, mass spectrometry will be performed to examine the entire proteome (all proteins) contained within these extracellular vesicles. Using the large number of proteins identified, the investigators will examine changes in categories of protein types (e.g., inflammatory proteins, metabolic proteins, transcriptional proteins).
Adipocyte cell sizePre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and 3 hours after exerciseAdipocyte cell size will be determined using methylene blue staining and microscopy.

Other

MeasureTime frameDescription
Fasting plasma glucoseBaselinePlasma glucose will be measured by the Mayo Clinical Lab.
Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c)BaselineHbA1c will be measured by the Mayo Clinical Lab.
Cardiorespiratory FitnessBaselineIndividual maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max) will be assessed by indirect calorimetry during a graded exercise test
Body fat percentageBaselineBody fat percentage will be assessed using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA).
White blood countBaselineWhite blood count with differential will be measured by the Mayo clinical lab.
Fasting plasma insulinBaselinePlasma insulin will be measured by the Mayo Clinical Lab.

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026