Regional Lipolysis Insulin Regulation

April 7, 2026 updated by: Michael D. Jensen, Mayo Clinic

Insulin Regulation of Regional Lipolysis

Adults who gain most of their excess weight in the abdominal area typically do not respond to insulin in the same way as lean adults. Researchers are trying to understand why fat tissue responds differently in people with different body types.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Measure regional free fatty acid (FFA) release in volunteers with and without UBO under two different conditions that suppress lipolysis and a condition that markedly stimulates lipolysis.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

48

Phase

  • Early Phase 1

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

    • Minnesota
      • Rochester, Minnesota, United States, 55905
        • Recruiting
        • Mayo Clinic in Rochester
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Michael D Jensen, MD

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Males and females 18-65years who are able to comprehend instructions, follow study procedures and who willing to provide written, informed consent will be included. The volunteers will consume an isoenergetic diet eating all meals from Mayo Clinical Research Trials Unit (CRTU) for 3 days prior to study.
  • Overweight/Obese volunteers will have a BMI 29.0 - 37.0 kg/m2

    • Upper body/visceral obesity (UBO) in women will be defined as those with a waist-hip ratio (WHR) > 0.85 and/or increased visceral fat by single slice CT scan, usually with > 120 cm2 of visceral fat by CT scanning or a visceral fat/total fat ratio of > 0.30, and/or biochemical evidence of metabolic syndrome as defined by ATP III criteria (fasting plasma triglycerides ≥ 150 mg/dL, HDL-cholesterol < 50 mg/dL for women and < 40 mg/dL for men, fasting plasma glucose ≥ 100 mg/dL). Upper body obesity in men will be defined as a waist-hip ratio of >0.95 and/or increased visceral fat (visceral fat area > 180 cm2 or a visceral/total fat abdominal ratio by CT of > 0.40) by single slice CT scan and/or biochemical evidence of metabolic syndrome as defined by adenosine triphosphate (ATP) III criteria. These visceral fat values are based upon the data collected at Mayo Clinic using our methods, and are correlated with dyslipidemia and hyperinsulinemia.
    • Lower body obesity (LBO) in women will be defined as a waist-hip ratio of <0.75 and/or a lower visceral fat by single slice CT scan, usually < 120 cm2 or a visceral fat/total fat ratio of ≤ 0.30 and fasting plasma triglycerides within the normal range. The term "lower body men" is used to describe a male phenotype that is characteristic of adipose insulin sensitivity even with excess body fat. A waist to hip ratio isn't suitable for this description as it is for women. LBO men will be defined as obese men with normal fasting plasma triglycerides, normal fasting plasma glucose and greater proportional leg fat via dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA).
  • Female subjects are eligible if they meet the following criteria:

    • Are not pregnant or nursing.
    • All women of childbearing potential will have a negative urine pregnancy test at screening and a negative urine pregnancy test day of admission for inpatient study visit.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals with a history of a disease process such as:

    • Ischemic heart disease
    • Atherosclerotic valvular disease
    • Persistent blood pressure greater than 160/95 despite antihypertensive medication
  • Smokers
  • Diagnosis Diabetes Mellitus
  • Concomitant use of medications that can alter free fatty acid metabolism, including, but not limited to niacin, thiazolidinediones, beta-blockers, oral or injected corticosteroids or anabolic steroids.
  • Allergy to lidocaine
  • Allergy to indocyanine green.

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

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: obesity status
obesity
2 dose insulin infusion 4 hours
Other: lean
non-obese
2 dose insulin infusion 4 hours

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
palmitate release
Time Frame: The study will be conducted in a single day and will last approximately 6 hours
regional palmitate release rates (micromol/min) will be measured using a combination of leg and splanchnic blood flow combined with stable isotope tracer measurements of palmitate uptake and release across the leg and splanchnic bed. Upper body, non-splanchnic palmitate release will be calculated as: total palmitate release - (splanchnic palmitate release + (leg palmitate release x 2)). Release rates will be measured at baseline (overnight fasting) and in response to the infusion of insulin at low and medium rates. This will allow us to create dose-response curves for leg, splanchnic and upper body non-splanchnic adipose tissue palmitate release.
The study will be conducted in a single day and will last approximately 6 hours

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Michael Jensen, MD, Mayo Clinic

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)

May 1, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 24, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 26, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

May 1, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 13, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 7, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

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

Yes

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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