Omics Profiling of Weight Loss With Bariatric Surgery

The overarching hypothesis is that there are baseline, pre- and post-surgery combinations of 'omics' signatures in response to food and nutrients that explain the weight loss response of obese subjects to the pre-operative very low calorie (VLC) diet and to bariatric surgery. In order to address the general hypothesis the following specific aims will be addressed: Specific Aim 1: To test the hypothesis that there is a combination of 'omics' parameters in response to a defined meal that discriminate between morbidly obese subjects and normal weight subjects. Specific Aim 2: To test the hypothesis that variation in % weight loss to the VLC diet prior to bariatric surgery is related to baseline genomic markers, gene expression profile, proteomic and metabolomic signatures as well as baseline metabolic and substrates fluxomics response to a defined meal. Specific Aim 2: To test the hypothesis that variation in % weight loss 3 months after bariatric surgery is related to baseline genomic markers, gene expression profile, proteomic and metabolomic signatures as well as baseline metabolic and substrates fluxomics response to a defined meal. Specific Aim 3: To test whether there are "omics" characteristics post-surgery that track with variability in weight loss at 3 months. The benefit of these experiments will be the knowledge gained from understanding the variation in % weight loss to the medically required VLC diet prior to bariatric surgery, and to bariatric surgery, in relation to baseline genomic markers, gene expression profile, proteomic and metabolomic signatures as well as baseline metabolic and substrates fluxomics response to a defined meal in obese and healthy adults.