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Extracellular Vesicles, Insulin Action, and Exercise

Not Applicable
Recruiting
Conditions
Obesity
Type 2 Diabetes
Interventions
Behavioral: Exercise
Registration Number
NCT06546085
Lead Sponsor
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Brief Summary

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play a role in obesity-induced insulin resistance and likely impact the development of cardiovascular disease. However, little is known on how EVs affect vascular insulin action in people. The purpose of this study is to understand how EVs play a role in type 2 diabetes related cardiovascular disease. This research will also study if exercise can change how EVs impact blood flow and metabolic health. This study will contribute to designing precision medicine to treat/prevent cardiovascular disease in type 2 diabetes.

Detailed Description

Insulin resistance is a key underlying factor promoting hyperglycemia and hypertension in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D), who have a 3-fold greater cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk when compared with healthy controls. Despite several therapeutic approaches that favor insulin sensitivity through a variety of purported mechanisms (e.g. weight loss, incretins, AMPK activation, reduction in bioactive lipids: DAG/ceramides, etc.), long-term progression of glucose deterioration occurs. This suggests adjunctive targets may be important to prevent/reverse T2D. Studies show that extracellular vesicles (EVs) obtained from plasma are involved in obesity-induced insulin resistance at levels of adipocytes, muscle, and liver. However, little is known how plasma EVs affect vascular insulin action in humans. This is of clinical relevance as EVs enhance the Framingham Risk Score, suggesting EVs are a unique factor promoting CVD. This proposal will fill this knowledge gap by conducting a translational study in 3 distinct groups of people separated by obesity and T2D. The investigators hypothesize that 1) insulin will promote EV uptake and modify insulin signaling in endothelial cells, 2) EVs from adults with T2D will impair vessel reactivity compared to controls; 3) insulin will alter circulating EV insulin signaling and cargo, and 4) exercise training will change EV uptake and cargo as well as EV mediated vascular reactivity to insulin as well as relate to improved vascular function in humans.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
60
Inclusion Criteria
  • Male or female 40 - 70 years old.
  • HbA1c <5.7% and fasting glucose <100mg/dl to be considered NGT
  • T2D diagnosis or confirmation HbA1c ≥6.5% and fasting glucose ≥126 mg/dl
  • Prescribed metformin, GLP-1 agonists (oral/injectable), TZDs, DPP-IV inhibitors, Acarbose, SGLT-2 inhibitors ≥1 year.
  • Has a body mass index of 20-25 or 30-45 kg/m2.
  • Not diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
  • Not currently engaged in >90 min/wk of exercise.
Exclusion Criteria
  • Participants with morbid obesity (BMI >45 kg/m2) and under-/overweight patients (BMI: ≤18 or 25-30 kg/m2).
  • Intolerance to insulin
  • Evidence of type 1 diabetes and diabetics requiring insulin therapy.
  • Participants who have not been weight stable (≥2 kg weight change in past 6 months)
  • Participants who have been recently active in past 6 months via health screening questions (≥90 min of moderate/high intensity exercise)
  • T2D with HbA1c ≥8.0%
  • Participants who are smokers or who have quit smoking ≤5 years ago
  • Participants prescribed metformin, GLP-1 agonists (oral/injectable), TZDs, DPP-IV inhibitors, Acarbose, SGLT-2 inhibitors within 1 year.
  • Hypertriglyceridemic (≥400 mg/dl) and hypercholesterolemic (≥260 mg/dl) participants as determined from LabCorp samples.
  • Kidney dysfunction as determined from LabCorp biochemical outcomes (e.g. creatinine (≥1.0 mg/dl), eGFR (≤59 ml/min/1.73), BUN (≥24 mg/dl) as derived from comprehensive metabolic panels).
  • Hypertensive (≥160/100 mmHg) at time of screening.
  • Abnormal liver function (reflective from comprehensive panel liver enzymes Alk (≥121 IU/L), AST (≥40 IU/L) and ALT (≥32 IU/L) via LabCorp).
  • Participants taking vasoactive medications (i.e. angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, nitrates, alpha- or beta-blockers).
  • History of significant metabolic, cardiac, cerebrovascular, hematological, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, liver, renal, or endocrine disease or cancer that in the investigator's opinion would interfere with or alter the outcome measures, or impact subject safety.
  • Pregnant (as evidenced by positive pregnancy test) or nursing women
  • Participants with contraindications to participation in an exercise training program
  • Known hypersensitivity to perflutren (contained in Definity).
  • Anemic as confirmed by hematocrit (HCT) (women ≤36%, Men ≤38%) at time of screening.
  • Suggested infections at time of screening as confirmed by WBC (≥10.8 x10E3/uL) and/or platelets (≥450 x10E3/uL).

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Obesity with Type 2 DiabetesExerciseParticipants with obesity and type 2 diabetes will participate in 3 supervised exercise training sessions at 85% VO2max that expends \~400 kcal for 16 weeks.
Obesity with Normal Glucose ToleranceExerciseParticipants with obesity and normal glucose tolerance will participate in 3 supervised exercise training sessions at 85% VO2max that expends \~400 kcal for 16 weeks.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in Extracellular Vesicles during insulin infusionFrom enrollment to the end of treatment at 16 weeks.

Extracellular vesicles (CD41 -CD31+, CD45, Tx, CD31, CD105) will be isolated from plasma before and during insulin stimulation.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in Contrast Enhanced UltrasoundFrom enrollment to the end of treatment at 16 weeks.

Measure of microvascular blood flow before and during insulin stimulation.

Change in Flow Mediated Dilation of the brachial arteryFrom enrollment to the end of treatment at 16 weeks.

Measure of blood flow using ultrasound before and during insulin stimulation.

Change in Metabolic Insulin Sensitivity by the Isoglycemic ClampFrom enrollment to the end of treatment at 16 weeks.

Measure of glucose metabolism determined by the glucose infusion during the last 30 minutes of the 150 clamp procedure.

Change in Pulse Wave VelocityFrom enrollment to the end of treatment at 16 weeks.

Measure of arterial stiffness using pulse waves at the carotid and femoral arteries before and during insulin stimulation.

Change in Augmentation IndexFrom enrollment to the end of treatment at 16 weeks.

Measure of aortic pressure waveforms before and during insulin stimulation.

Change in Post Ischemic Flow Velocity in the brachial arteryFrom enrollment to the end of treatment at 16 weeks.

Measure of blood flow using ultrasound before and during insulin stimulation.

Trial Locations

Locations (3)

Institute for Food, Nutrition, and Health

🇺🇸

New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Clinical Research Center

🇺🇸

New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States

Rutgers University Loree Gymnasium

🇺🇸

New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States

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