ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Diabetes: Molecular Mechanisms
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1585834
This article is part of the Research TopicMitochondrial Dynamics and Endothelial Dysfunction: Implications for Metabolic DisordersView all 3 articles
Effect of Imeglimin on Mitochondrial Function in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Prospective Cohort Study
Provisionally accepted
- 1SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, India
- 2SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, SRMIST, Kattankulathur, India
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Background: Imeglimin, a novel oral hypoglycemic agent, is known to influence mitochondrial function and glucose metabolism. This study evaluates its effects on glycemic control, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number, and telomere dynamics in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Methods: Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients were assigned to one of four treatment groups: (1) Imeglimin alone, (2) Imeglimin with metformin, (3) Imeglimin with other oral hypoglycemic agents, and (4) Metformin with other oral hypoglycemic agents. Clinical and metabolic parameters, mtDNA copy number, and relative telomere length were assessed at baseline and six months. Statistical analyses included paired t-tests and mixed models.The study included participants with a mean age of 55.6 years (57% male, BMI 28.8 kg/m²). HbA1c significantly decreased in the Imeglimin + Other OHA (p < 0.001), Imeglimin + Metformin (p < 0.001), and Metformin + Other OHA (p < 0.001) groups, with a smaller but significant decrease in the Imeglimin monotherapy group (p = 0.04). mtDNA copy number increased significantly in the Imeglimin-based combination groups (p < 0.05) but not with monotherapy (p = 0.18). No serious adverse events were reported. Relative telomere length was only associated with age and changes in LDL-c levels.Imeglimin-based combination therapy effectively improves glycemic control and mitochondrial function, while monotherapy offers limited benefits. Combination therapy may be preferable for optimizing metabolic outcomes in T2DM. No significant change in telomere length was observed during the short period of time.
Keywords: Imeglimin, mitochondrial DNA, telomere length, type 2 diabetes, glycemic control
Received: 01 Mar 2025; Accepted: 15 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Satheesan, Kumar, Leela and Murugesan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Abhishek Satheesan, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, India
Dr Janardhanan Kumar, SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, SRMIST, Kattankulathur, India
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