# Diversity Supplement to R01AR072669 Utilizing Beige Fat to Improve Muscle function After Rotator Cuff Repair

> **NIH NIH R01** · NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE/RES/EDU · 2021 · $122,573

## Abstract

Project Summary
Rotator cuff tears are an extremely common cause of shoulder pain and disability. Up
to 50% of patients greater than the age of 65 years of age have evidence of a rotator
cuff tear. In addition, patients with small asymptomatic cuff tears tend to progress to
larger, symptomatic tears. The outcomes of surgical repair of small cuff tears are good,
but there has been limited success in the surgical treatment in the surgical treatment of
massive cuff tears.
Massive cuff tears have been linked with fatty infiltration of the rotator cuff muscles.
Patients with large cuff tears who develop fatty infiltration have poorer clinical outcomes
and higher rates of failure after attempted repair. We have previously found that a
newly discovered stem cell population-FAPs-is critical in the development of fatty
infiltration after cuff injury. Further, these cells share similar expression patterns with
the beige adipocyte lineage, a distinct cell population that has unique thermogenic and
metabolic capabilities that could improve muscle function.
This study will support Steven Garcia, MD, a post doctoral resident in the UCSF
Department of Orthopedic Surgery. He will use our well-studied animal model and a
novel repair model to evaluate the mechanism by which FAP cells can improve muscle
function through differentiation into a beige fat phenotype. Understanding the
relationship between FAP cells and beige adipocytes and utilizing these cells in
endogenous and exogenous treatment strategies could help improve muscle quality in
cuff repair as well as other muscle injury states.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10360786
- **Project number:** 3R01AR072669-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE/RES/EDU
- **Principal Investigator:** Brian Feeley
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $122,573
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2018-09-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10360786

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10360786, Diversity Supplement to R01AR072669 Utilizing Beige Fat to Improve Muscle function After Rotator Cuff Repair (3R01AR072669-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10360786. Licensed CC0.

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