Evidence Hub

Treatment with dapagliflozin and empagliflozin reduces concentrations of N4-acetylcytidine in plasma, a biomarker associated with vascular damage

Gessner A, Kannenkeril D, Bosch A, Harazny JM, Fromm MF, Klinkhammer H, Staerk C, Mayr A et al.

Cardiovascular diabetology, 2026

48 participants

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Inhibitors of the sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) provide cardiovascular and renal protection in both diabetic and non-diabetic patients at least in part independently of glycaemic control. Some underlying mechanisms for these clinically beneficial effects were suggested, but the picture is far from complete. In this study we aimed to apply untargeted metabolomics in order to identify new mechanistic leads.

METHODS: Plasma and 24-hour urine samples of 48 diabetic patients taken before and after 6 weeks of treatment from two prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over trials with dapagliflozin or empagliflozin were used. Additionally, plasma and urine samples of 24 diabetic patients from a prospective, randomized, controlled, parallel-arm, interventional, open-label, single centre study with either empagliflozin and linagliptin or metformin and insulin glargine for 12 weeks were used for confirmation. Changes of metabolite patterns in plasma and urine were determined by untargeted high-resolution mass spectrometry. Moreover, parameters of arterial stiffness and retinal vascular remodelling were correlated with treatment effects of the SGLT2 inhibitors on the modified nucleoside N4-acetylcytidine (ac4C), a potential biomarker for the activity of the enzyme N-acetyltransferase 10 (NAT10).

RESULTS: In accordance with previously reported results treatment with SGLT2 inhibitors led to a reduction of glucose (log2fc: - 0.23, adj. p <…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design. Reported size: 48 participants or records.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

Read the paper

Related studies

Go deeper in Evidence Hub

Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.

Open this study Sign up free