Evaluating the Efficacy and Safety of Metformin in Vitiligo

Summary

Metformin modulates metabolism in multiple cell types and is currently used to reduce glucose levels and insulin resistance in diabetic patients. The investigators hypothesize that oral metformin can regulate the metabolism of CD8+ T cells, reduce their cytotoxic activity and thus serve as a novel treatment for vitiligo.

Timeline

Start

2025-07

Primary completion

2028-06-30

Completion

2028-11-01

Publications

• Background Rashighi M, Agarwal P, Richmond JM, Harris TH, Dresser K, Su MW, Zhou Y, Deng A, Hunter CA, Luster AD, Harris JE. CXCL10 is critical for the progression and maintenance of depigmentation in a mouse model of vitiligo. Sci Transl Med. 2014 Feb 12;6(223):223ra23. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3007811.
• Background Zhang Y, Cai Y, Shi M, Jiang S, Cui S, Wu Y, Gao XH, Chen HD. The Prevalence of Vitiligo: A Meta-Analysis. PLoS One. 2016 Sep 27;11(9):e0163806. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0163806. eCollection 2016.
• Background Salzes C, Abadie S, Seneschal J, Whitton M, Meurant JM, Jouary T, Ballanger F, Boralevi F, Taieb A, Taieb C, Ezzedine K. The Vitiligo Impact Patient Scale (VIPs): Development and Validation of a Vitiligo Burden Assessment Tool. J Invest Dermatol. 2016 Jan;136(1):52-8. doi: 10.1038/JID.2015.398.
• Background Linthorst Homan MW, Spuls PI, de Korte J, Bos JD, Sprangers MA, van der Veen JP. The burden of vitiligo: patient characteristics associated with quality of life. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2009 Sep;61(3):411-20. doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2009.03.022. Epub 2009 Jul 3.
• Background Elbuluk N, Ezzedine K. Quality of Life, Burden of Disease, Co-morbidities, and Systemic Effects in Vitiligo Patients. Dermatol Clin. 2017 Apr;35(2):117-128. doi: 10.1016/j.det.2016.11.002.
• Background Ogg GS, Rod Dunbar P, Romero P, Chen JL, Cerundolo V. High frequency of skin-homing melanocyte-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes in autoimmune vitiligo. J Exp Med. 1998 Sep 21;188(6):1203-8. doi: 10.1084/jem.188.6.1203.
• Background Frisoli ML, Essien K, Harris JE. Vitiligo: Mechanisms of Pathogenesis and Treatment. Annu Rev Immunol. 2020 Apr 26;38:621-648. doi: 10.1146/annurev-immunol-100919-023531. Epub 2020 Feb 4.
• Background Richmond JM, Bangari DS, Essien KI, Currimbhoy SD, Groom JR, Pandya AG, Youd ME, Luster AD, Harris JE. Keratinocyte-Derived Chemokines Orchestrate T-Cell Positioning in the Epidermis during Vitiligo and May Serve as Biomarkers of Disease. J Invest Dermatol. 2017 Feb;137(2):350-358. doi: 10.1016/j.jid.2016.09.016. Epub 2016 Sep 26.
• Background Sanchez-Rangel E, Inzucchi SE. Metformin: clinical use in type 2 diabetes. Diabetologia. 2017 Sep;60(9):1586-1593. doi: 10.1007/s00125-017-4336-x. Epub 2017 Aug 2.
• Background Agius L, Ford BE, Chachra SS. The Metformin Mechanism on Gluconeogenesis and AMPK Activation: The Metabolite Perspective. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 May 3;21(9):3240. doi: 10.3390/ijms21093240.
• Background Cui Y, Chang L, Wang C, Han X, Mu L, Hao Y, Liu C, Zhao J, Zhang T, Zhang H, Zhang Y, Liu Y, Zhao W, Wang J, Liu X, Sun B, Wang G, Kong Q, Han J, Li H. Metformin attenuates autoimmune disease of the neuromotor system in animal models of myasthenia gravis. Int Immunopharmacol. 2019 Oct;75:105822. doi: 10.1016/j.intimp.2019.105822. Epub 2019 Aug 19.
• Background Tomczynska M, Bijak M, Saluk J. Metformin - The Drug for the Treatment of Autoimmune Diseases; A New Use of a Known Anti-Diabetic Drug. Curr Top Med Chem. 2016;16(19):2223-30. doi: 10.2174/1568026616666160216152324.
• Background Salvatore T, Pafundi PC, Galiero R, Gjeloshi K, Masini F, Acierno C, Di Martino A, Albanese G, Alfano M, Rinaldi L, Sasso FC. Metformin: A Potential Therapeutic Tool for Rheumatologists. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2020 Sep 4;13(9):234. doi: 10.3390/ph13090234.
• Background Doyle-Delgado K, Chamberlain JJ, Shubrook JH, Skolnik N, Trujillo J. Pharmacologic Approaches to Glycemic Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes: Synopsis of the 2020 American Diabetes Association's Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes Clinical Guideline. Ann Intern Med. 2020 Nov 17;173(10):813-821. doi: 10.7326/M20-2470. Epub 2020 Sep 1.
• Background Cornell S. Comparison of the diabetes guidelines from the ADA/EASD and the AACE/ACE. J Am Pharm Assoc (2003). 2017 Mar-Apr;57(2):261-265. doi: 10.1016/j.japh.2016.11.005. Epub 2017 Jan 5.
• Background DeFronzo R, Fleming GA, Chen K, Bicsak TA. Metformin-associated lactic acidosis: Current perspectives on causes and risk. Metabolism. 2016 Feb;65(2):20-9. doi: 10.1016/j.metabol.2015.10.014. Epub 2015 Oct 9.

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