The relationship between OCT gene polymorphism and metformin therapeutic effects

Mefformin is a common oral drug to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus in clinic.Its therapeutic effect is difierent due to individual diffefences,and the maior transporter of metformin is the organic cation transporter (OCT) taking in charge of its metabolism in the body.It mainly include three isomers (OCT1,OC12 and OCT3),among which OCT1 located at liver and OCT2 situated in kidney play a critical role.OCT1 is responsible for the hepatic uptake of metformin,and OCT2 is involved in the transportation of metformin from the blood circulation into renal epithelial cells.The polymorphisms of OCT1 and OCT2 genes can influence the metabolism and clinical efficacy of metformin.This article mainly review the advancement of the recent studies about the relevance of the two gene polymorphisms and the metformin therapeutic effect. Key words: OCT1; OCT2; Metformin; Gene polymorphism; Organic cation transporters; Diabetes mellitus