Center for Metabolism
and Mitochondrial Medicine
Clinical and Translational Research Unit
The Clinical and Translational Research Unit promotes clinical research and the translation of existing findings from basic research models into humans through collaborative efforts with other investigators. Unique capabilities include state-of-the art methods to measure physiology of fuel metabolism in vivo, exercise testing in controlled conditions, biospecimen acquisition such as fat and muscle samples, body composition, and stable-isotope tracer studies. The research facility is located on the 8th floor of Montefiore Hospital and is equipped with equipment, resources, and personnel with several years of expertise in human research.
Frederico Toledo, MD
Clinical Research Director
Platform Technologies
Human Metabolism Lab
State-of-the-art methodologies to measure fuel metabolism in vivo are available. Examples include the euglycemic clamp, multi-step clamp, isoglycemic clamp, fs-IVGTT, and meal tolerance tests with metabolic modeling. These methods can measure insulin sensitivity, beta cell function, insulin clearance and several other parameters of metabolism. Indirect calorimetry is available to measure resting caloric expenditure, glucose and lipid oxidation flux. Doubly-labelled water tracer methods are available to measure energy metabolism and caloric intake in free-living conditions. This core is also capable of stable-isotope tracer studies for more advanced measurements of specific fuel fluxes, such as intra vs. extracellular lipid oxidation, hepatic glucose output, and mitochondrial TCA cycle activity in vivo.
Body Composition Lab
The facility houses a DEXA scan machine for measurements of body fat, lean mass (for metabolic studies) and bone mineral density (for bone metabolism studies). If radiation exposure is a concern, the facility also houses a BotPod for measurements of body composition. CT scan analysis for body composition measurements is also available and provides data on visceral fat accumulation, regional fat accumulation and distribution, intra-hepatic fat content and muscle fat content.
Exercise Physiology Lab
The exercise lab offers a number of methods for studying exercise. The facility offers both treadmills and stationary ergometers for measurements of maximal exercise capacity (VO2max) and sub-maximal exercise tests. These tests can be done with simultaneous blood sampling for unique insights on human metabolism during exercise. These studies are often employed in studies of cardiorespiratory fitness, aging, diabetes and obesity. Also offered are measurements of energy expenditure in free-living conditions with BodyMedia armbands, measurements of muscle strength, and fatigability.
Lifestyle modification studies are also supported. The facility has an experienced exercise physiologist with experience in exercise interventions and exercise training equipment for monitoring compliance in house.
Mass Spectrometry Lab
The mass spec lab is capable of several different analyses for metabolic studies. Examples include:
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- Free fatty acids with sub-species profiling by GC-FID
- Short chain fatty acids
- Total fatty acids (Total, not differentiated between FFA, TG, CE, PL)
- [6, 6-D2]–Glucose
- 13CO2 enrichment in breath for measurement of substrate oxidation in vivo
- 13C-palmitate enrichment in plasma by GC-Combustion-IRMS, capable of measuring very low enrichment enabling lower isotope infusion rates
- Enrichment of many other compounds, eg. Amino Acids
- Deuterium and 18 Oxygen isotope enrichment of Doubly Labeled Water assessment of free living energy expenditure.
- Long Chain Acyl-CoAs by LC-MS
- Cardiolipin by LC-fluorescence
- Bile Acids by LC-MS
Staff
Contact
Fred Toledo, MD | toledofs@upmc.edu
