# Utilizing beige fat to improve muscle function after rotator cuff repair

> **NIH NIH R01** · NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE/RES/EDU · 2022 · $115,548

## Abstract

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 PROJECT DESCRIPTION
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 Rotator cuff (RC) 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
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 of a RC tear. In addition, patients with small asymptomatic cuff tears tend to progress to
 larger, symptomatic tears. The outcomes of surgical repair of small RC tears are good,
 but there has been limited success in the surgical treatment of massive RC tears.
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 Massive RC tears have been linked with fatty infiltration of the rotator cuff muscles.
 Patients with large RC tears who develop fatty infiltration have poorer clinical outcomes
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 and higher rates of failure after attempted repair. We have previously found that a newly
 discovered stem cell population-fibro/adipocyte progenitor (FAP) cells-is critical in the
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 development of fatty infiltration after RC injury. Further, these cells share similar
 expression patterns with the beige adipocyte lineage, a distinct cell population that has
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 unique thermogenic and metabolic capabilities that could improve muscle function.
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 The study will leverage our well-studied animal model and a novel repair model to
 evaluate the mechanism by which FAP cells can improve muscle function through
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 differentiation into a beige fat phenotype in mouse and human tissue. 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
 RC repair as well as other muscle injury states.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10645657
- **Project number:** 3R01AR072669-05S1
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE/RES/EDU
- **Principal Investigator:** Brian Feeley
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $115,548
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2018-09-01 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10645657

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10645657, Utilizing beige fat to improve muscle function after rotator cuff repair (3R01AR072669-05S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10645657. Licensed CC0.

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