Alogliptin and Gliclazide Similarly Increase Circulating Endothelial Progenitor Cells in Type 2 Diabetes Patients.

AIM: We investigated the effect of alogliptin and gliclazide on endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in type 2 diabetes. METHODS: Eighty patients with type 2 diabetes and HbA1c between 7.5% and 8.5% were randomized to receive either alogliptin (25 mg/daily) or gliclazide extended-release (30 mg/daily for HbA1c 7.5-8.0% and 60 mg/daily for HbA1c 8.0-8.5%) in combination with metformin for 4 months. At baseline and 4 months, clinical and laboratory parameters of EPCs were determined. RESULTS: After 4 months of treatment, alogliptin and gliclazide resulted in a similar significant reduction in HbA1c (%) (8.0±0.3 vs. 7.1±0.2, and 8.0±0.3 vs. 7.0±0.2, respectively; P<0.05) and a similar and significant increase in EPC count (cells/106 WBC) (CD45-CD133+KDR+ : 2.2±1.2 vs. 3.7±1.6, CD45-CD34+KDR+: 3.3±1.8 vs. 4.9±1.8; P<0.05 for alogliptin; CD45-CD133+KDR+: 2.3±1.3 vs. 3.6±1.5, CD45-CD34+KDR+: 3.1±1.3 vs. 4.6±1.7; P<0.05 for gliclazide). CONCLUSIONS: Both alogliptin and gliclazide demonstrated a beneficial effect in increasing EPCs in poorly controlled type 2 diabetes. As alogliptin and gliclazide exhibit different mechanisms of action, the observed increase in EPCs seems to be due to their glucose-lowering effect.

Active Stromal Cell-Derived Factor 1α and Endothelial Progenitor Cells are Equally Increased by Alogliptin in Good and Poor Diabetes Control.

BACKGROUND: It is postulated that the ability of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4-i) to increase circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) may be at least partly mediated by active stromal cell-derived factor 1α (SDF-1α) (a pivotal mediator of stem cell mobilization from the bone marrow). As other DPP-4-i were demonstrated to increase EPC concentrations, in this study, we sought to investigate the ability of the DPP-4-i alogliptin in modifying EPCs and SDF-1α, in patients with good and poor diabetes control. METHODS: Two groups of diabetic patients on metformin were divided by hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c): Group A-those with HbA1c ≤6.5% (28 patients) and Group B-those with HbA1c 7.5% to 8.5% (31 patients). Both groups received alogliptin 25 mg/daily for 4 months. At baseline and 4 months later, clinical, laboratory parameters, EPCs, and active SDF-1α were determined. RESULTS: After 4-month treatment with alogliptin, either Group A or Group B showed reduced HbA1c levels and concomitant similar increase in EPCs and active SDF-1α. CONCLUSIONS: Alogliptin showed significant benefits in increasing EPCs and active SDF-1α either in good or poor diabetes control. The study demonstrated that similar to other DPP-4-i, also alogliptin is able to increase EPC concentrations, suggesting the existence of a class effect mediated by SDF-1α. The extent of increase in EPCs is independent from baseline diabetes control.