Why Do SGLT2 Inhibitors Inhibit Only 30–50% of Renal Glucose Reabsorption in Humans?
Abstract
Sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibition is a novel and promising treatment for diabetes under late-stage clinical development. It generally is accepted that SGLT2 mediates 90% of renal glucose reabsorption. However, SGLT2 inhibitors in clinical development inhibit only 30–50% of the filtered glucose load. Why are they unable to inhibit 90% of glucose reabsorption in humans? We will try to provide an explanation to this puzzle in this perspective analysis of the unique pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles of SGLT2 inhibitors in clinical trials and examine possible mechanisms and molecular properties that may be responsible.
Footnotes
This article contains Supplementary Data online at http://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.2337/db12-0052/-/DC1.
- Received January 17, 2012.
- Accepted April 10, 2012.
- © 2012 by the American Diabetes Association.
Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ for details.
In this Issue
