Potential biomarker of metformin action

Metformin is a first-line, anti-diabetic agent prescribed to over 150 million people worldwide. The main effect of metformin is to suppress glucose production in the liver; however, there is no reliable biomarker to assess the effectiveness of metformin administration. Our previous studies have shown that phosphorylation of CBP at S436 is important for the regulation of hepatic glucose production by metformin. In current study, we found that CBP could be phosphorylated in white blood cells (WBCs), and CBP phosphorylation in the liver and in WBCs of mice had a similar pattern of change during a fasting time course experiment. These data suggests that CBP phosphorylation in WBCs may be used as a biomarker of metformin action in the liver.