Development of Microbiome-Based Biomarkers and Biotherapy for Metformin Efficacy
Abstract
Failure to respond to and get treated with well-established drugs in certain individuals is highly frustrating both for patients and the practitioner physicians. One such example is metformin non-responsiveness for treatment of diabetes (hyperglycemia). Around 20%-40% of patients taking metformin to treat diabetes do not achieve the expected glucose-lowering response. However, the factors causing this non-responsiveness are not known. Orally administered metformin comes in close contact with microbes living in the human gut (gut microbiome). It is now becoming clear that upon metformin treatment, gut microbiome changes significantly and contributes to blood glucose lowering effects of metformin. This indicates that certain gut bacteria favor the action of metformin to reduce blood glucose, but on the other hand, it might be possible that some other kind of microbes in the gut may interfere with metformin’s action to cause non-responsiveness. Hence, the present study will test the hypothesis that the gut microbiome perturbation (dysbiosis) might be causing metformin non-responsiveness and that the modulation of gut microbiome using probiotics therapy may reverse this non-responsiveness. The study will bring forth a novel concept that can be applied to a wide array of drugs to explain and better understand the variability in drug non-response. Specifically, the study will delineate the casual vs. causal relationship of gut microbiome with metformin non-responsiveness and will open new avenues for developing gut microbiome-based biomarkers and treatments for metformin non-responsiveness in individuals with type 2 diabetes.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Oct 29, 2018
- Source ID
- W81XWH1810118
Entities
People
- Hariom L. Yadav
Organizations
- United States Army
- Wake Forest University