Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Studying Pancreatic Cancer Stem Cell Characteristics for Developing New Treatment Strategies
Published on: June 20, 2015
Polymorphism in human organic cation transporters and metformin action
Hiroshi Takane1, Eriko Shikata, Kenji Otsubo
1Department of Pharmacy, Tottori University Hospital, Yonago, Japan.
Abstract:
Considerable interindividual variabilities in clinical efficacy and adverse events are sometimes recognized in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes mellitus with oral antihyperglycemic drugs. Metformin is the most commonly used biguanide in clinical practice, and also improves insulin resistance and reduces cardiovascular risk. However, certain patients taking metformin do not respond sufficiently. The molecular reasons for the variability in response to metformin are not clear. However, it has been recently suggested that genetic factors may be responsible for the variability. Metformin is not metabolized but is transported by at least two organic cation transporters (OCT), OCT1 and OCT2. Recently, genetic polymorphisms in OCT 1 and OCT2 have been found to be associated with changes in pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic responses to substrate drugs. This review focuses on the impact of the genetic polymorphism of organic cation transporters on transport activity, and the implications for the clinical efficacy of metformin.
More Related Videos
08:15Understanding the Changes in Mitochondrial Morphology through Dynamic and Three-dimensional Fluorescence Micrographs
Published on: August 15, 2025
07:06Isolation of Primary Human Proximal Tubule Epithelial Cells and Their Use in Creating a Microphysiological Model of the Renal Proximal Tubule
Published on: May 9, 2025
Related Concept Videos
Pharmacogenetics of Drug Transporters: P-Glycoprotein and Solute Carrier Transporters
Pharmacogenetics of Drug Metabolism: Overview
Pharmacogenetics of Phase I Enzymes: Cytochrome P450 Isozymes
Pharmacogenetic Phenotypes: Alterations in Pharmacokinetics, Drug Targets and Biologic Milieu
Nonlinear Pharmacokinetics: Role of Transporters
Polymorphisms occurring in drug transporters can alter...
Principles of Pharmacogenetics: Types of Genetic Variants