Physiologic and Functional Adaptations of Insulin Sensitive Tissues

December 9, 2025 updated by: Charles R. Flynn, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Physiologic and Functional Adaptations of Insulin Sensitive Tissues After Bariatric Surgery

The long-term goal is to understand the mechanisms of intestinal nutrient sensing and signal relays to insulin sensitive tissues (adipose, skeletal muscle, liver) in humans. The investigators hypothesize that human tissue biopsies (from obese surgery and non-surgery subjects as well as lean controls) can be used to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying intestinal nutrient sensing and signal relay in humans. The investigator will obtain tissue specimens from patients during scheduled upper endoscopies, colonoscopies and scheduled metabolic and bariatric surgeries or liver transplantation. A blood sample (4mL) will be obtained concurrent with these procedures. From metabolic and bariatric surgery subjects blood and tissues (liver, adipose, small intestine, omentum, skeletal muscle) can be collected at the time of surgery. From liver transplantation patients, excised liver tissue will be collected. Stool can be obtained preoperatively and at various time points after surgery. Some bariatric surgery subjects will participate in a mixed-meal tolerance test at their pre-operative visit and several post-operative visits to compare the whole-body metabolic alterations following bariatric procedures.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Enrolling by invitation

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Upper endoscopy (subset)

  • Intestinal biopsies will be obtained during scheduled upper endoscopy from the mid-duodenum and/or proximal jejunum. In the case that a patient requires an upper endoscopy after metabolic and bariatric surgery, biopsies will be obtained from the mid-jejunum.
  • Blood will be collected from an IV placed in the arm used for administering anesthesia required for the indicated procedure.

Colonoscopy (subset)

  • Biopsies of the colon will be obtained during scheduled colonoscopy.
  • Blood will be collected from an IV placed in the arm used for administering anesthesia required for the indicated procedure.

Metabolic and bariatric surgery (subset)

  • During the metabolic and bariatric surgical procedures, biopsy of the jejunum, liver and omentum (visceral adipose) may be obtained. Biopsies of skeletal muscle and subcutaneous adipose will be taken at the sites of trocar placement for laparotomy.
  • Blood will be collected from an IV placed in the arm used for administering anesthesia required for the indicated procedure.
  • Feces will be self-collected by the patient using a provided culture swab specimen container or FOB card.

Liver transplantation (subset)

• Tissue will be collected from excised disease liver

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
500

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Tennessee
      • Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37232
        • Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Obese or lean subjects seen in the Vanderbilt Endoscopy Clinic, obese subjects planning surgery at the Center for Surgical Weight Loss, or obese or lean subjects planning liver transplantation surgery will be approached by research staff to participate in the study.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

- Scheduled for upper endoscopy, colonoscopy or metabolic and bariatric surgery, or liver transplantation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Additional inclusion criteria for individuals scheduled for metabolic and bariatric surgery: Obese, ≥ 40 kg/m2 or ≥ 35 kg/m2 + one comorbidity (type 2 diabetes [fasting blood glucose ≥ 120 mg/dL; HbA1C ≥ 6.5%]; fatty liver disease, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, hyperlipidemia)

Additional inclusion criteria for individuals scheduled for liver transplantation: diagnosis of nonalcoholic liver disease or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Known history of intestinal diseases including, but not limited to, inflammatory bowel disease (e.g. ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease) and celiac sprue.
  • Smoking >7 cigarettes per day
  • Malabsorptive syndromes
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding

Additional exclusion criteria for patients undergoing endoscopy/colonoscopy:

  • Recent history of malignancy (<5 years ago)
  • Previous lap band surgery
  • Established renal disease

Additional exclusion criteria for patients undergoing bariatric surgery:

  • Previous lap band, sleeve gastrectomy, or gastric bypass surgery
  • Recent history of malignancy (< 5 years ago)
  • Established organ dysfunction

Additional exclusion criteria for patients undergoing liver transplantation:

  • Previous lap band, sleeve gastrectomy, or gastric bypass surgery
  • Alpha 1 anti-trypsin disease, Wilson's disease, viral hepatitis, alcoholic liver disease

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Obese, surgery
Obese subjects recruited from the Center for Surgical Weight loss who are undergoing weight loss surgery as part of their standard of care. Tissue biopsies, blood, and fecal swabs will be collected at surgical visits.
Other: Surgical biopsy
Biopsy of the liver is standard of care for diagnosing NAFLD. Biopsy of omentum, skeletal muscle and subcutaneous adipose (the latter two tissues taken at the site of trocar placement) will be collected intraoperatively at the time of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) or vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG).
Other: Mixed-meal tolerance test
The mixed meal tolerance test (MMTT) shows how much insulin your body is making after drinking a liquid meal beverage that contains fats, protein and carbohydrates (sugar). Glucose, C-peptide, free fatty acids, triglycerides, incretins, pancreatic polypertide, bile aceis, and fatty acid amides can also be measured. A total of 9 tablespoons of blood is taken over a 255 minute period.
Obese, nonsurgery
Obese subjects recruited from the Vanderbilt Endoscopy Clinic who are undergoing upper endoscopy or colonoscopy as part of their standard of care. Tissue biopsies, blood, and fecal swabs will be collected at day of procedure.
Other: Endoscopy biopsy
Tissue samples will be collected from the jejunum, duodenum, and colon during the subject's standard of care procedure.
Lean control
Lean control subjects recruited from the Vanderbilt Endoscopy Clinic who are undergoing upper endoscopy or colonoscopy as part of their standard of care. Tissue biopsies, blood, and fecal swabs will be collected at day of procedure.
Other: Endoscopy biopsy
Tissue samples will be collected from the jejunum, duodenum, and colon during the subject's standard of care procedure.
Liver transplant
Lean or obese subjects who are undergoing liver transplantation as part of their standard of care. Excised liver tissue will be collected the day of procedure.
Other: Excised Liver Tissue Sampling
Tissue will be collected from the excised liver for research after the diseased liver has been removed as part of the standard of care procedure.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Ability to establish organoid cultures
Time Frame: 12 months
Measure percent success rate of making organoid cultures from tissue biopsies
12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Charles Flynn, Ph.D., Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
February 13, 2018

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
February 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
February 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
January 4, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 15, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
January 23, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
December 18, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 9, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 171845

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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