Mechanisms of Anabolic Resistance in Older Humans

January 19, 2026 updated by: Ian R. Lanza, Mayo Clinic
The purpose of this research is to understand how chronic inflammation affects muscle function and responses to exercise in older adults.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Inflamed adipose tissue may contribute to blunted exercise response in skeletal muscle of older adults. The objective of this project is to evaluate a hypothesis that inflamed adipose secretes factors that activate inflammatory cascades in skeletal muscle, which may interfere with exercise-responsive molecular pathways and contribute to dysfunctional muscle phenotypes with aging. This project determine how adipose tissue influences skeletal muscle function and anabolic response to exercise in older adults. Young and older adults will complete studies to assess molecular response to acute exercise from protein synthesis rates, mRNA of exercise-responsive genes, and activation of signaling proteins in skeletal muscle. Adipose tissue will be assessed using a combination of non-invasive imaging and biopsy-based molecular phenotyping. The project will determine if acute exercise response is attenuated in older adults with inflamed adipose tissue phenotype.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

120

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Minnesota
      • Rochester, Minnesota, United States, 55905
        • Recruiting
        • Mayo Clinic
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Ian R Lanza, PhD

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

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

Men and women age 21-35 years or 70-85 years of age

Description

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Diabetes or fasting plasma glucose 126 mg/dL
  2. Body mass index (BMI) 30 kg/m2
  3. Anemia (female subjects hemoglobin of <11 g/dl and male subjects hemoglobin <12 g/dl)
  4. Active coronary artery disease or history of unstable macrovascular disease (unstable angina, myocardial infarction, stroke, and revascularization of coronary, peripheral or carotid artery within 3 months of recruitment)
  5. Renal failure (serum creatinine > 1.5mg/dl)
  6. Chronic active liver disease (AST>144IU/L or ALT>165IU/L)
  7. Oral warfarin group medications or history of blood clotting disorders.
  8. Smoking
  9. Pregnancy or breastfeeding
  10. Alcohol consumption greater than 2 glasses/day or other substance abuse
  11. Untreated or uncontrolled hypothyroidism
  12. Debilitating chronic disease (at the discretion of the investigators)

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
Intervention / Treatment
Young
Men and women between the ages of 21-35 years will be recruited for this study. All participants will complete an outpatient study day (body composition, blood draw, treadmill test, strength test) and an inpatient study day (muscle biopsies, fat biopsies, indirect calorimetry, exercise test).
Other: Exercise
Young and older adults will perform a single bout of unaccustomed resistance exercise to evaluate molecular and cellular response in skeletal muscle
Older
Men and women between the ages of 70-85 years will be recruited for this study. All participants will complete an outpatient study day (body composition, blood draw, treadmill test, strength test) and an inpatient study day (muscle biopsies, fat biopsies, indirect calorimetry, exercise test).
Other: Exercise
Young and older adults will perform a single bout of unaccustomed resistance exercise to evaluate molecular and cellular response in skeletal muscle

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Anabolic response
Time Frame: 2 months
Skeletal muscle protein synthesis rates will be measured from isotopic enrichment of muscle proteins
2 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Mayo Clinic

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Ian Lanza, 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)

January 14, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

September 16, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

September 16, 2030

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 13, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 25, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

September 27, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 21, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 19, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 24-003329

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Anthropometric data Primary and secondary outcomes

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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