Characterization and Analysis of Human Brown Adipose Tissue (H-44643)

The purpose of this study is to enroll lean and overweight/obese patients referred to Texas Children’s Hospital for thyroidectomy surgery in order to collect a small amount of brown fat to:

• determine markers for the human brown adipocyte progenitor population
• analyze genes that regulate human Brown Adipose Tissue (BAT) differentiation, metabolism, and function
• determine whether body mass index (BMI) is associated with changes in BAT gene expression, metabolism, function, histology, and/or morphology.

The other purpose of this protocol is to bank BAT collected intra-operatively and maintain associated de-identified age, sex, diagnosis, thyroid hormone status, height, and body weight records for future research. Samples will not be released from the bank without IRB approval for the specific research proposed.