An investigation of metformin response in a novel cell model to understand how specific genes influence drug response in Diabetes.

There is genetic influence on the clinical response to the most commonly used diabetes drug metformin. We have found that variations in the sequence of the gene NPAT significantly influences the patient response to metformin. We will use a cell system developed in our lab to investigate the mechanism that underlies this genetic association with metformin action. We will compare metformin sensitivity of cells that contain the NPAT found in good responders with cells that contain the poor responding NPAT or no NPAT. The student will learn cell culture, RNA and protein isolation and quantification techniques, immunohistochemistry and microscopy.