Extracellular Vesicle Signaling in Obesity and Cardiometabolic Disease (EVOC)
The goal of this observational study is to research the impact of molecular signals from the heart, liver and fat tissue on cardiovascular disease risk, and the presentation of Type II Diabetes and diseases that affect the heart, blood vessels and metabolism (Cardiometabolic Disease). Specifically, the focus is on the content and function of Extracellular Vesicles (EVs), small sacs released from a cell's surface that contain important molecular cargo. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. What molecular cargo do adipose-tissue EVs carry? 2. How do these cargo impact cardiac and hepatic function? 3. Are changes in EV content related to cardiac function and adiposity with weight loss? Tissue samples from fat tissue and blood samples will be collected from patients receiving bariatric weight loss surgery.
• Age greater than or equal to 18 years of age
• Obese (BMI\>/=30 kg/m2; for obesity/bariatric surgery group)
• For 20 patients, additional criteria will be presence of pre-diabetes or diabetes (HgbA1c \> 5.7 or Fasting blood glucose \> 100).