Differences in lipid metabolism between anagliptin and sitagliptin in patients with type 2 diabetes on statin therapy: a secondary analysis of the REASON trial

BACKGROUND: Anagliptin, a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor, is reported to reduce the level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). The underlying mechanism of this effect and effect on lipid metabolism however remains uncertain. AIM AND METHODS: We therefore evaluate the effects of anagliptin on lipid metabolism-related markers compared with those of sitagliptin. The study was a secondary analysis using data obtained from the Randomized Evaluation of Anagliptin versus Sitagliptin On low-density lipoproteiN cholesterol in diabetes (REASON) trial. This trial in patients with type 2 diabetes at a high risk of cardiovascular events and on statin therapy showed that anagliptin reduced LDL-C levels to a greater extent than sitagliptin. Cholesterol absorption (campesterol and sitosterol) and synthesis (lathosterol) markers were measured at baseline and 52 weeks in the study cohort (n = 353). RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the changes of campesterol or sitosterol between the two treatment groups (p = 0.85 and 0.55, respectively). Lathosterol concentration was increased significantly at 52 weeks with sitagliptin treatment (baseline, 1.2 ± 0.7 μg/mL vs. 52 weeks, 1.4 ± 1.0 μg/mL, p = 0.02), whereas it did not change in the anagliptin group (baseline, 1.3 ± 0.8 μg/mL vs. 52 weeks, 1.3 ± 0.7 μg/mL, p = 0.99). The difference in absolute change between the two groups showed a borderline significance (p = 0.06). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that anagliptin reduces LDL-C level by suppressing excess cholesterol synthesis, even in combination with statin therapy. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT02330406. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02330406; registered January 5, 2015.