Study: Saxagliptin Offers Renal Protection

Rats fed a high-salt diet and treated with saxagliptin (Onglyza/AstraZeneca) a potent inhibitor of the DPP-4 enzyme, showed markedly ameliorated urinary albumin excretions, a Japanese team found. The research is due to be reported in an abstract at a poster session June 6 at the American Diabetes Association meeting in Boston, MA.

The study animals also had fewer renal glomerular and tubular injuries, researchers Masako Uchii and colleagues at the Pharmaceutical Researcher Center, Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., in Shizuoka, Japan wrote. The drug did not lower their blood pressure or blood glucose levels. Saxagliptin also strongly inhibited in situ glomerular and tubular DPP-4 activities.

In addition, saxagliptin significantly attenuated up-regulation of renal mRNA expressions of IL-6, Pal-1, Collagen I, and Collagen II.

“Our results demonstrated that saxagliptin inhibited the development of renal injury independent of its glucose-lowering effect and that the glomerular and tubular DPP-4 inhibitions by saxagliptin were associated with amelioration of kidney injury,” in the rats. That holds promise for renal protection, the team concluded.