Brown Adipose Tissue as Nutrient Buffer Through Diet Induced Thermogenesis

NCT06078345 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: EKNZ 2023-01544
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 30
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

To test the hypothesis that active BAT improves metabolic health by buffering postprandial metabolites plasma metabolites and energy expenditure will be compared in volunteers with and without active BAT. Both groups will receive test meals with protein, fat and carbohydrates separately, so that the individual impacts of these macronutrients on diet induced thermogenesis and the buffering function of BAT can be derived. BAT biopsies will be taken before and after the test meals for molecular analysis.

Conditions

Brown Adipose Tissue; Metabolic Disease

Keywords

Diet induced thermogenesis; Cold exposure; Energy Expenditure

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• AUC Glucose

  Area under the curve (AUC) of glucose after the oral glucose load in participants with functional BAT as compared to participants without functional BAT

  1h before and 5 hours after nutritional intervention

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• AUC Branched chain amino acids

  1h before and 5 hours after nutritional intervention

• AUC triglycerides

  1h before and 5 hours after nutritional intervention

• Diet induced thermogenesis

  1h before and 5 hours after nutritional intervention

Study Arms (2)

BAT positive

EXPERIMENTAL

Maximal activated supraclavicular BAT SUVmean \>1,5 g/ml-

Other: Carbohydrate; Other: Fat; Other: Protein

BAT negative

EXPERIMENTAL

Maximal activated supraclavicular BAT SUVmean \<1,5 g/ml

Other: Carbohydrate; Other: Fat; Other: Protein

Interventions

Carbohydrate OTHER

400 Kcal glucose (100g oGTT)

BAT negative; BAT positive

Fat OTHER

400 Kcal glucose rapeseed oil.

BAT negative; BAT positive

Protein OTHER

400 Kcal Moltein PURE (111g)

BAT negative; BAT positive

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 40 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• BMI 18.5 to 28 kg/m2
• Able to give informed consent as documented by signature

You may not qualify if:

• Concomitant medication other than prescription free analgesics (paracetamol and NSAID) and oral contraceptives
• Other clinically significant concomitant disease states (e.g., renal failure, hepatic dysfunction, cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus)
• Hyper- or hypothyroidism
• Smoker / habitual tobacco use
• Hypersensitivity to cold (e.g. Raynaud syndrome)
• Known or suspected non-compliance, drug or alcohol abuse
• Inability to follow the procedures of the study, e.g. due to language problems, psychological disorders, dementia, etc. of the participant
• Enrolment of the investigator, his/her family members, employees and other dependent persons
• Enrolment into another study using ionizing radiation within the previous 12 months
• Enrolment into another study including a pharmacological or nutritional intervention
• Pregnancy or lactation
• Lab parameters
• Serum-Creatinine: above 1.5x upper limit of normal (ULN)
• Glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1c): above 6.0%
• Random plasma glucose \>11 mM

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland: lead
• ETH Zurich (Switzerland): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University Hospital Basel, Dept. of Endocrinology

Basel, Switzerland

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Metabolic Diseases

Interventions

Carbohydrates; CD36 Antigens; Proteins

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Platelet Membrane Glycoproteins; Membrane Glycoproteins; Glycoproteins; Glycoconjugates; Fatty Acid Transport Proteins; Membrane Transport Proteins; Carrier Proteins; Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins; Membrane Proteins; Receptors, Cell Surface; Receptors, Immunologic; Scavenger Receptors, Class B; Receptors, Scavenger; Receptors, LDL; Receptors, Lipoprotein

Study Officials

• Matthias J Betz, MD

  University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Prospective interventional trial in healthy volunteers with random sequence of the three study interventions.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 5, 2023
• First Posted: October 11, 2023
• Study Start: October 12, 2023
• Primary Completion: August 15, 2025
• Study Completion: August 15, 2025
• Last Updated: November 25, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-11

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CH (1)