New research published in Nature Genetics could explain why some patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) respond better than others to the first-line therapy metformin. In a genome-wide association study of 13,123 ethnically diverse patients with T2DM, the C allele of rs8192675 in the intron of SLC2A2 (encoding glucose transporter type 2, liver; GLUT2) was associated with a 0.17% (P = 6.6 × 10−14) greater metformin-induced reduction in HbA1c levels than the T allele. The findings bring a precision medicine approach for prescribing and dosing metformin in T2DM one step closer.
References
Zhou, K. et al. Variation in the glucose transporter gene SLC2A2 is associated with glycemic response to metformin. Nat. Genet. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ng.3632 (2016)
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Holmes, D. Genetic variation underpins metformin response. Nat Rev Endocrinol 12, 626 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2016.143
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2016.143