Ceramides in Muscle During Insulin Resistance

June 17, 2022 updated by: Micah Drummond, University of Utah

The Role of Ceramides in Skeletal Muscle

Overnutrition and physical inactivity promote the accumulation of sphingolipids such as ceramides which block insulin signaling and anabolic metabolism. Implementation of pharmacological or genetic interventions to reduce sphingolipid levels in rodents prevents or reverses an impressive array of metabolic pathologies (e.g. insulin resistance, diabetes, steatohepatitis, hypertension, cardiomyopathy, and atherosclerosis). To elucidate the tissue-specific mechanisms through which ceramides contribute to these diseases, mice have been produced to allow for the conditional, cell-type restricted ablation of enzymes required for ceramide biosynthesis or degradation (i.e. serine palmitoyltransferase and dihydroceramide desaturases-1) or degradation (i.e. acid ceramidase). Aims of the project include the following: To use these novel mouse models to evaluate the effect of muscle-specific ceramide depletion or induction on insulin sensitivity, muscle growth, and genomic/proteomic signatures under conditions of overnutrition and inactivity. To apply a ceramide flux assay in isolated human myotubes to identify the regulatory mechanisms that influence rates of ceramide biosynthesis; and, To determine the efficacy of a new class of inhibitors of dihydroceramide desaturases-1, our preferred target in the ceramide synthesis pathway, as therapeutics that improve muscle insulin sensitivity and prevent muscle loss in rodents. Findings obtained from these studies could uncover new nutrient-sensing machinery that modulates insulin sensitivity and muscle growth. Moreover, the translational component could lead to new pharmacological approaches for improving muscle health.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Withdrawn

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

Healthy, insulin sensitive, physically active male and female adults will be studied (N=15; 65-80 years as determined by sample size calculation below) recruited from the Salt Lake City area. Inclusion and exclusion criteria can be found in Protection of Human Subjects. Outpatient blood screening, including an oral glucose tolerance (OGTT) test, and bed rest experiments will take place in the University Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences (CCTS), a clinical service supported by an NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award. The CCTS medical supervising physician oversees procedures. Participants will arrive at the CCTS fasted on Day 1 and a euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp study will be performed as done previously with this unit. Vastus lateralis muscle biopsies will be obtained before and three hours after the clamp. Periodic blood samples will be obtained as part of the clamp procedure for measurement of insulin and glucose. Muscle samples will be either cultured or flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored for later analysis. After completion of the first insulin clamp experiment (Day 1), subjects will adhere to 5-days of strict bed rest as this is a clinically-relevant time frame for older adults hospitalized for acute medical illness, as well as being sufficient to induced insulin resistance. Established safety and comfort guidelines will be followed as done previously. On Day 5, after an overnight fast, a second insulin clamp study will be conducted and muscle biopsies will be again obtained.

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

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
    • Utah
      • Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, 84108
        • University of Utah
      • Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, 84112
        • The University of Utah

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

60 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

Healthy older community dwelling participants in salt lake city and surrounding cities

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Age between 60 yrs and older
  2. Ability to sign informed consent
  3. Free-living, prior to admission

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Cardiac abnormalities considered exclusionary by the study physician
  2. Uncontrolled endocrine or metabolic disease (e.g., hypo/hyperthyroidism, diabetes)
  3. Globular filtration rate <65 mL/min/1.73m2 or evidence of kidney disease or failure
  4. Vascular disease or risk factors of peripheral atherosclerosis. (e.g., uncontrolled hypertension, obesity, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia > 250 mg/dl, claudication or evidence of venous or arterial insufficiency upon palpitation of femoral, popliteal and pedal arteries)
  5. Risk of deep vein thrombosis including family history of thrombophilia, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary emboli, myeloproliferative diseases including polycythemia (Hb>18 g/dL) or thrombocytosis (platelets>400x103/mL), and connective tissue diseases (positive lupus anticoagulant), hyperhomocysteinemia, deficiencies of factor V Leiden, proteins S and C, and antithrombin III
  6. Use of anticoagulant therapy (e.g., Coumadin, heparin)
  7. Elevated systolic pressure >150 or a diastolic blood pressure > 100
  8. Implanted electronic devices (e.g., pacemakers, electronic infusion pumps, stimulators)
  9. Cancer or history of successfully treated cancer (less than 1 year) other than basal cell carcinoma
  10. Inability to abstain from smoking for duration of study
  11. A history of > 20 pack per year smoking
  12. HIV or hepatitis B or C
  13. Recent anabolic or corticosteroids use (within 3 months)
  14. Subjects with hemoglobin or hematocrit lower than accepted lab values
  15. Agitation/aggression disorder (by psychiatric history and exam)
  16. History of stroke with motor disability
  17. A recent history (<12 months) of gastrointestinal bleed
  18. Liver disease
  19. Respiratory disease (acute upper respiratory infection, history of chronic lung disease with resting oxygen saturation <97% on room air)
  20. Any other condition or event considered exclusionary by the PI and faculty physician

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

  • Observational Models: Cohort
  • Time Perspectives: Prospective

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
Insulin resistance
Time Frame: Change in glucose infusion rate at Day 5 of bed rest (from Pre bed rest)
Steady state glucose infusion rate in response to constant insulin will be determined by a 3-hour hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp procedure.
Change in glucose infusion rate at Day 5 of bed rest (from Pre bed rest)

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.
University of Utah

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: Scott Summers, PhD, University of Utah

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.
May 1, 2018

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

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.
January 1, 2022

Study Completion (Anticipated)

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.
January 1, 2022

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).
November 2, 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.
November 2, 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.
November 6, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

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.
June 22, 2022

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.
June 17, 2022

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.
June 1, 2022

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.
  • DK115824

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

IPD Plan Description

We will provide access to all data collected as a part of this research. Investigators may request access to the shared data generated by this study. All external investigators must submit a written request identifying the research question they are examining and specifying the data they are interested in receiving. The request must include a data security plan and explanation of how the data will be stored and who will have access to the data. All requests will be reviewed by Drs. Summers and Drummond to be sure appropriate NIH requirements are followed.

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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