KCNQ1 variant rs163184 is a potential biomarker of glycemic response to exenatide

Aim: To examine the association between variant rs163184 in the type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) susceptibility gene KCNQ1 and exenatide glycemic response in the Chinese population. Patients & methods: We included 100 T2DM patients from the CONFIDENCE study and investigated the association between rs163184 and glycemic response to exenatide, by using a multivariate linear model with adjustment for baseline glucose status and other covariates. Results: The G allele of rs163184 was associated with a 0.34% (p = 0.016) lower glycosylated hemoglobin reduction after 48 weeks of exenatide treatment. Similar significant associations were observed when glycemic response to exenatide was evaluated with fasting blood glucose or postprandial blood glucose reduction. Conclusion: We found that rs163184 in the gene KCNQ1 was associated with reduced glycemic response to exenatide in T2DM patients. The effect size observed in this study was large enough to be considered clinically relevant in stratified medicine.