Example Projects
The Singapore Adult Metabolism Study
Research Aim
The aim of the study was to examine the role of ethnicity in the relationship between adiposity and insulin resistance. At lower body mass indices (BMIs), Chinese and Malays are known to have a stronger correlation between obesity and insulin resistance compared with Indians. However, the underlying mechanisms of these differences have not been characterized. This study sought to determine whether differences in body fat distribution play a role in these ethnic differences.
What the Researchers Did
Researchers recruited the subjects from 3 different Singaporean ethnic groups, Chinese, Malay and Indian.
How the Core Was Integral to the Study
- Performed hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp procedures to determine insulin sensitivity in the subjects.
- Performed percutaneous needle skeletal muscle biopsy to interrogate the cellular insulin signaling pathway in these subjects.
- Collaborated with research partners to perform magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure the abdominal fat amounts (visceral adipose tissue [VAT] and subcutaneous adipose tissue [SAT]), and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to measure liver fat and intramyocellular lipid content.
- Collaborated with a partner hospital for dual energy x-ray absorptiometry studies to determine body fat composition.
Results
- The ethnic differences in the relationship between insulin resistance and % body fat were maintained, regardless of the fat depot (VAT, SAT, liver fat, or intramyocellular lipid) examined.
- Differential body fat distribution did not explain the ethnic differences observed among Asian ethnic groups. Instead, differences in muscle insulin signaling (such as the Akt pathway) may be more important.
- Findings published in Khoo, et al. Diabetes. 2014;63:1093-1102. (doi: 10.2337/db13-1483).
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