Type 2 diabetes can lead to diabetic kidney disease, but a class of drugs that cause the kidneys to remove glucose through urine has been gaining attention. An Osaka Metropolitan University-led research group has investigated how such drugs maintain kidney health.
Known as SGLT2 (sodium-glucose cotransporter-2) inhibitors, the drugs are used to treat type 2 diabetes along with an exercise and diet regimen. The group led by Graduate School of Medicine Associate Professor Katsuhito Mori focused on the SGLT2 inhibitor canagliflozin and its effects on the kidney.
Using BOLD (blood oxygenation level-dependent) MRI, a method used to see changes in blood oxygen flow in the brain to monitor activity, the group found that patients on canagliflozin for five days showed more oxygen in their kidneys the first day after administration of the drug. The researchers believe this indicates that SGLT2 inhibitors might improve the oxygenation of the kidneys, thereby protecting the organs.
“In animal experiments, the amount of oxygen in the kidneys can be measured by inserting a microelectrode, but this is not possible in humans,” Professor Mori explained. “BOLD MRI can measure kidney oxygenation non-invasively, and this is expected to become an important technology for elucidating the mechanisms of kidney disease for the development of therapeutic drugs.”
The findings were published in
Frontiers in Endocrinology.
Funding
This study was supported by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation.
Conflict of interest
KM has received speaker fees from Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim Co., Eli Lilly Japan K.K., AstraZeneca K.K., Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Novo Nordisk Pharma Ltd., Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd., and Mochida Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., and unrestricted research grants from Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd., Torii Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., and Sumitomo Pharma Co. Ltd., and research funding from Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd. TI has received speaker fees from Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim Co., Eli Lilly Japan K.K., AstraZeneca K.K., Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Novo Nordisk Pharma Ltd., Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd., Mochida Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Torii Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Sanwa Kagaku Kenkyusho CO., LTD., and Bayer Yakuhin, Ltd., and unrestricted research grant from Eli Lilly Japan K.K. HU has received speaker fees from Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Kyowa Kirin, and Mochida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. SN has received speaker fees from AstraZeneca K.K., Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Novartis Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., and Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. ST has received speaker fees from Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd., and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. HO has received speaker fees from Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim Co., Eli Lilly Japan K.K., AstraZeneca K.K., Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd., Novartis Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Torii Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., and Bayer Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., and unrestricted research grants from Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd., Torii Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., and Bayer Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., and research funding from Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd., Torii Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Kissei Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., and Bayer Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. ME has received speaker fees from Novo Nordisk Pharma Ltd., Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim Co., Sumitomo Pharma Co. Ltd., Sanofi K.K., Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd., AstraZeneca K.K., and Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., and unrestricted research grants from Sumitomo Pharma Co. Ltd., Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim Co., Eisai Co. Ltd., Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, and Bayer Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and research funding from Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation and Kyowa Kirin Co. Ltd.
The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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