Postprandial hypertriglyceridemia impairs endothelial function and plays an important role in the development of atherosclerosis. The aim of the present study was to examine the postprandial effects of the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor vildagliptin and the α-glucosidase inhibitor voglibose on endothelial dysfunction and lipid profiles following a single administration. A randomized cross-over trial using 11 normoglycemic individuals was performed. The postprandial effects of a single administration of vildagliptin (50 mg) or voglibose (0.3 mg) on endothelial function were analyzed using brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and lipid profiles during fasting and 1.5 and 3 h after an oral cookie-loading test. Compared with voglibose, vildagliptin significantly suppressed postprandial endothelial dysfunction, (%FMD, -1.6±0.9 vildagliptin vs. -4.0±0.7 voglibose; P=0.01) and the postprandial incremental increase in the triglyceride level (28±18 vildagliptin vs. 51±26 mg/dl voglibose; P=0.01) 3 h after a cookie-loading test. In addition, vildagliptin significantly increased the levels of glucagon-like peptide-1 compared with voglibose 3 h after a loading cookie test (4.4±0.6 vs. 2.9±0.7 pmol/l, respectively; P=0.04). No significant differences in the levels of glucose, apolipoprotein B-48, glucagon or insulin were observed between vildagliptin and voglibose treatments. In conclusion, a single administration of vildagliptin attenuated postprandial endothelial dysfunction and postprandial hypertriglyceridemia, suggesting that vildagliptin may be a promising antiatherogenic agent.
Keywords: dipeptidyl peptidase 4; endothelial function; postprandial lipemia.