CYP2C8 and SLCO1B1 Variants and Therapeutic Response to Thiazolidinediones in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE Thiazolidinediones (TZDs) are putatively transported into the liver by OATP1B1 (encoded by SLCO1B1) and metabolized by CYP450 2C8 enzyme (encoded by CYP2C8). While CYP2C8*3 has been shown to alter TZD pharmacokinetics, it has not been shown to alter efficacy. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We genotyped 833 Scottish patients with type 2 diabetes treated with pioglitazone or rosiglitazone and jointly investigated association of variants in these two genes with therapeutic outcome. RESULTS The CYP2C8*3 variant was associated with reduced glycemic response to rosiglitazone (P = 0.01) and less weight gain (P = 0.02). The SLCO1B1 521T>C variant was associated with enhanced glycemic response to rosiglitazone (P = 0.04). The super responders defined by combined genotypes at CYP2C8 and SLCO1B1 had a 0.39% (4 mmol/mol) greater HbA1c reduction (P = 0.006) than the poor responders. Neither of the variants had a significant impact on pioglitazone response. CONCLUSIONS These results show that variants in CYP2C8 and SLCO1B1 have a large clinical impact on the therapeutic response to rosiglitazone and highlight the importance of studying transporter and metabolizing genes together in pharmacogenetics.