Bioavailability of SPMs in Obese Humans

Obesity Adult Onset Clinical Trial

Official title: Bioavailability of Specialized Pro-resolving Mediators in Obese Humans

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

Research Question: Does 4 weeks of supplementation with 'SPM Active' lead to a statistically significant increase in plasma SPM concentration for obese human subjects? Primary Aim 1: To compare plasma SPM concentrations and immunological fitness pre- and post- oral SPM administration in the obese.

• Aim 1a: To quantify plasma SPM concentrations in plasma (pg/mL), serum (pg/mL) and PBMCs before and after 4 weeks of supplementation with 'SPM Active.' The concentration of SPMs in plasma, in addition to other PUFA-derived metabolites that share the same enzymatic pathways as SPMs, will be established at baseline and post-intervention using mass spectrometry-based metabololipidomics.

• Aim 1b: To measure in vitro antibody responses of B cells in PBMC pool with in vitro stimulation and cytokine production before and after 4 weeks of supplementation with 'SPM Active.' In addition, researchers will quantify the relative abundance of differing immune cell populations.

Clinical Trial Description

Purpose: Specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) are a superfamily of lipid metabolites, predominantly derived from the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acids (DHA). Previous research has established that obese mice and humans have lower circulating levels of SPMs relative to lean controls. In this study, SPMs will be administered as a dietary supplement to obese human subjects to establish: 1) their bioavailability in plasma, serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and 2) their effects on immune cell abundance and in vitro antibody production. The rationale for focusing on immune cells is that SPMs may be targeting their abundance and phenotype. This study does not intend to make any health or health-related claims.

Participants: A total of 24 (n=12 men + 12 women) obese (BMI 30-40 kg/m2) euglycemic and pre-diabetic subjects (fasting glucose 70-125 mg/dL or HbA1c of 5.7-6.4%) aged 50-65 years will be recruited by Dr. Erik Butler from the UNC Family Medicine Center in Chapel Hill.

Procedures (methods): This is a non-randomized uncontrolled clinical trial. The study will provide the intervention 'SPM Active' provided by Metagenics. All subjects will be advised to take 4 capsules per day (2 capsules with breakfast and 2 capsules with dinner) of 'SPM Active' for 4 weeks total. Each capsule contains 145 mg of SPMs for a total daily dose of 580 mg. Fasting blood will be drawn pre- and post-intervention using phlebotomy available under the direction of Dr. Butler. The scientific approach will rely on mass-spectrometry based metabololipidomics, immunophenotyping with flow cytometry, and anthropomorphic/blood pressure/BMI measurements (anthropometric measures are only intended for use in statistical analysis for confounding variables). ;

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Obesity Adult Onset

• NCT number: NCT04701138
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: February 4, 2021
• Completion date: June 18, 2021