Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CARDIOLOGY
Volume 331, Issue -, Pages 243-248Publisher
ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2021.01.063
Keywords
Campesterol; Lathosterol; Cholesterol absorption; Cholesterol synthesis; Empagliflozin; High-density lipoprotein
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Empagliflozin increases serum campesterol, a marker of cholesterol absorption, in patients with type 2 diabetes. This increase may be associated with SGLT2 inhibitor-induced increases in HDL cholesterol. Positive correlation was found between changes in plasma campesterol and changes in HDL-c levels in the empagliflozin group.
Background and aims: Sodium/glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors decrease plasma triglyceride levels and slightly increase low-density lipoprotein (LDL-c) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c). However, the mechanisms underlying such changes in the blood lipid profile remain to be determined. We investigated how empagliflozin affects plasma markers of cholesterol absorption and synthesis, and evaluated the relationship between changes in these markers and blood lipids in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods and results: In a randomized, active-controlled, open-label trial, 51 patients were randomly allocated in 2:1 ratio to receive empagliflozin 10 mg/day (n = 32) or standard therapy (n = 19) for 12 weeks. We measured plasma levels of lathosterol as a marker of cholesterol synthesis, and campesterol and sitosterol as markers of cholesterol absorption, at baseline and 12 weeks after treatment. In the empagliflozin group, serum HDL-c, but not LDL-c, significantly increased between baseline and 12 weeks (54.4 +/- 16.3 vs. 58.8 +/- 19.6 mg/dl: p = 0.0006), whereas in the standard therapy group, HDL-c and LDL-c remained unchanged. In the empagliflozin group, plasma campesterol also increased significantly (4.14 +/- 1.88 vs. 4.90 +/- 226 mu g/ml, p = 0.0008), whereas no change in plasma campesterol or sitosterol was found in the control group. Although plasma lathosterol showed no change in the whole empagliflozin group, it decreased significantly in patients who were not taking statins. In statin non-users, plasma lathosterol decreased significantly after treatment with empagliflozin (2.71 +/- 0.99 vs. 1.91 +/- 0.99 mu g/ml, p < 0.05). In the empagliflozin group, changes in plasma campesterol correlated positively with changes in HDL-c. Conclusion: Empagliflozin increases serum campesterol, a marker of cholesterol absorption, in patients with type 2 diabetes. This increase may be associated with SGLT2 inhibitor-induced increases in HDL cholesterol. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available