MELVILLE, N.Y., Sept. 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BioRestorative Therapies, Inc. ("BioRestorative" or the “Company") (OTC: BRTX), a life sciences company focused on stem cell-based therapies, today announced that the Company has entered into a one-year material transfer agreement with the University of Pennsylvania providing the University access to the Company’s proprietary brown adipose tissue (“brown fat”) fat cells.

The research is intended to advance our understanding of the biology and the role of brown fat tissue in metabolic disorders. Brown fat is recognized as playing a role in caloric burning, as well as potentially regulating glucose and lipid levels.

The contemplated research proposes studying both primary adipose tissue and adipocyte cells differentiated in culture. Research will focus on measuring specific RNAs, proteins, gene regulatory elements, and metabolites of interest, and also unbiased profiling by methods including RNA-seq, ChIP-seq, and ATAC-seq (to assess gene expression, transcription factor genomic occupancy, and accessible chromatin, respectively).

Dr. Raymond Soccio’s laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism will lead the research effort. He aims to discover mechanisms by which genetic variation in non-coding regulatory regions of the genome creates a predisposition towards metabolic diseases like diabetes, obesity, and dyslipidemia, and how this may be exploited for precision medicine. Soccio is an assistant professor of Medicine in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

“My lab is dedicated to better understanding the biology of human brown fat, which has great therapeutic potential,” Dr. Soccio said. “BioRestorative has success in procuring this valuable tissue and culturing brown fat cells, while we study its basic molecular and genetic mechanisms.”

Mark Weinreb, Chief Executive Officer of BioRestorative Therapies, said, “We are excited to collaborate with the University of Pennsylvania to advance our brown fat platform in order to develop potential cell therapies for a variety of metabolic disorders. It is an honor to work with Dr. Soccio and his team at the University of Pennsylvania who are among the foremost experts in the field of metabolic diseases.”

About BioRestorative Therapies, Inc.

BioRestorative Therapies, Inc. (www.biorestorative.com) develops therapeutic products using cell and tissue protocols, primarily involving adult stem cells. Our two core programs, as described below, relate to the treatment of disc/spine disease and metabolic disorders: