The Effect of Dolutegravir on Whole-body Insulin Sensitivity, Lipid and Endocrine Profile in Healthy Volunteers (DTG Clamp)

This study will investigate changes in insulin resistance, lipid metabolism and endocrine profile in HIV-negative subjects exposed to dolutegravir (an antiretroviral drug used in HIV treatment) in order to investigate the role all these different factors may potentially have in weight gain recently reported in clinical cohorts.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: HIV-1-infection on Healthy Volunteers
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Dolutegravir

Detailed Description

A randomised, crossover study investigating the difference in changes in insulin sensitivity (determined by peripheral glucose uptake using a euglycaemic clamp) with the administration of dolutegravir (DTG) compared to no DTG for 28 days in HIV seronegative healthy volunteers.

Participants will be randomised 1:1 to one of two arms:

Group 1:

• Dolutegravir 50 mg once daily for the first 28 days of the study.
• No treatment for the last 44 days of the study.

Group 2:

• No treatment for the first 28 days of the study.
• Dolutegravir 50 mg once daily for the last 28 days of the study (day 44-72).

Research bloods, endocrine profiles, weight and urine samples will be collected at baseline, as well as day 28, 44, and 72 to enable comparative analyses.

Participants will be closely monitored whilst taking the study medications. Participants will exit the study 72 days post-randomisation, with a follow-up call 28 days after exiting.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 16
• Phase: Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • London, United Kingdom, SW10 0XD
    • Arnold Xhikola

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 60 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria

• Willing and able to provide informed consent
• Cis-Male and Cis-Female healthy subjects without underlying conditions
• Subjects must have documented negative HIV serology by ELISA and P24 antigen and not receiving anti-HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PreP)
• Subjects must be clinically well volunteers aged between 18 to 60 years with BMI <30 kg/m2 but >18 kg/m2
• Healthy, as determined by the investigator or medically qualified designee based on a medical evaluation, including medical history, physical examination, laboratory tests, and cardiac evaluation (including ECG)
• Non-fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol and triglycerides within normal limits
• Subjects should have complete blood count (FBC) with normal differential and platelet count (detail below of specified normal range, table 1)

Table 1 - Compete FBC with normal differential & platelets count ranges Test Male Normal Range Female Normal Range Haemoglobin (g/L) 130-168 114-150 White blood cell count (x109/L) 4.2-10.6 4.2-11.2 Neutrophil count (x109/L) 2.0 - 7.1 Lymphocyte count (x109/L) 1.1 - 3.6 Monocyte count (x109/L) 0.2 - 0.9 Eosinophil count (x109/L) 0.0 - 0.5 Basophil count (x109/L) 0.0 - 0.2

• A female, may be eligible to enter and participate in the study if she:

  • is of non-child-bearing potential defined as either post-menopausal (12 months of spontaneous amenorrhea and ≥45 years of age) or physically incapable of becoming pregnant with documented tubal ligation, hysterectomy or bilateral oophorectomy or,
  • is of child-bearing potential with a negative pregnancy test at both Screening and Day 1 and agrees to use one of the following methods of contraception to avoid pregnancy:
  • Complete abstinence from penile-vaginal intercourse. Abstinence is acceptable only as true abstinence when this is in line with the preferred and usual lifestyle of the participant;
  • Any intrauterine device with published data showing that the expected failure rate is <1% per year (not all intrauterine devices meet this criterion, see Appendix 6] for an example listing of approved intrauterine devices);
  • Male partner sterilization confirmed prior to the female subject's entry into the study, and this male is the sole partner for that subject;
  • Approved hormonal contraception (see Appendix 6] for a listing of examples of approved hormonal contraception)*;
  • Any other method with published data showing that the expected failure rate is <1% per year
• Men who have partners who are women of childbearing potential (WOCBP - definition in Appendix 6) must be using an adequate method of contraception to avoid pregnancy in their partner throughout the study and for a period of at least 4 weeks after the study;
• Complete abstinence from penile-vaginal intercourse. Abstinence is acceptable only as true abstinence when this is in line with the preferred and usual lifestyle of the patient;
• Double barrier method (male condom/spermicide, male condom/diaphragm, diaphragm/spermicide);
• Any intrauterine device (IUD) with published data showing that the expected failure rate is <1% per year (not all IUDs meet this criterion, see Appendix 4 for an example listing of approved IUDs) plus male condom;
• Sterilisation confirmed prior to the subject's entry into the study
• Approved hormonal contraception used by female partner (see protocol appendix 4 for a listing of examples of approved hormonal contraception) plus male condom;
• Any other method with published data showing that the expected failure rate is <1% per year and not containing hormones plus male condom.
• Any contraception method must be used consistently, in accordance with the approved product label and for at least four weeks after discontinuation of IMP (Appendix 6).

Any contraception method must be used consistently, in accordance with the approved product label and for at least 28 days prior to the first dose of study medication and 4 weeks after discontinuing the study medication.

4.1.2 Exclusion Criteria

• Subjects with a waist hip ratio > 0.97 or BMI > 30kg/m2 and BMI <18 kg/m2 will be excluded
• Acute or chronic hepatitis B infection (determined by positive hepatitis B surface antigen result at the screening visit)
• Acute or chronic hepatitis C infection (determined by positive hepatitis C antibody result at the screening visit)
• Diabetes mellitus, other metabolic syndrome or disease process in the opinion of the investigator likely to cause marked disturbance in glucose and lipid homeostasis including hypertension. Subject with HbA1c >42 mmol/mol will be excluded.
• History or presence of allergy to the dolutegravir
• ALT or AST greater than or equal to 1.5 x Upper Limit of Normal (ULN) and total bilirubin greater than or equal to 1.5 x ULN excluded;
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding women
• Alcohol consumption >10 units/week
• Clinically relevant drug use (positive urine drug screen) or history of alcohol or drug use considered by the Investigator to be sufficient to hinder compliance with treatment, follow-up procedures or evaluation of adverse events. Smoking is permitted, but tobacco intake should remain consistent throughout the study.
• Unable to refrain from the use of prescription (e.g., dofetilide) or non-prescription drugs, including vitamins, herbal and dietary supplements (including St John's wort) within 7 days (or 14 days if the drug is a potential enzyme inducer) or 5 half-lives prior to the baseline visit and throughout the study until the follow-up period, unless in the opinion of the Investigator the medication will not interfere with the study procedures or compromise participant safety.

• This includes on-going therapy with any of the following

  • Metabolically active medications
  • Any lipid-lowering medication
  • Any testosterones treatments or supplements - Glucocorticoids including inhaled steroids except for 'as necessary' use
  • Beta-blockers
  • Thiazide diuretics and indapamide
  • Thyroid preparations
  • Psychotropic agents
  • Anabolic steroids
  • Megestrol acetate
  • Dofetilide (or pilsicainide)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Arm 1; Dolutegravir - 50 mg once daily, orally administered for the first 28 days of the study.; No treatment for the last 44 days of the study.	Drug: Dolutegravir; 50 mg once daily orally; Other Names: Tivicay
Experimental: Arm 2; No treatment for the first 28 days of the study.; Dolutegravir - 50 mg once daily, orally administered for the last 28 days of the study (day 44-72).	Drug: Dolutegravir; 50 mg once daily orally; Other Names: Tivicay

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Insulin Sensitivity in Participants From Baseline to End of Study Between Two Crossover Groups.	Change in insulin sensitivity will be determined by peripheral glucose uptake using a euglycaemic clamp.	Baseline, day 28 and 72 for both groups.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Effect of Dolutegravir on Adipocytokines.	Fasting adiponectin levels in blood.	Baseline, day 28 and 72 for both groups.
Effect of Dolutegravir on Pituitary Hormones	Cortisol	Baseline, day 28 and 72 for both groups.
Effect of Dolutegravir on Changes in Indirect Calorimetry	Indirect calorimetry by ventilated hood expires gas analysis will be used to determine energy expenditure during the course of the clamp procedures.	Baseline, day 28 and 72 for both groups.
Effect of Dolutegravir on Adipocytokines.	Fasting Leptin levels in blood.	Baseline, day 28 & 72 for both groups.
Effect of Dolutegravir on Adipocytokines.	Fasting Ghrelin levels in blood.	Baseline, day 28 & 72 for both groups.
Effect of Dolutegravir on Pituitary Hormones	Prolactin	Baseline, day 28 and 72 for both groups.
Effect of Dolutegravir on Pituitary Hormones	Luteinsing Hormone Level	Baseline, day 28 and 72 for both groups.
Effect of Dolutegravir on Pituitary Hormones	Growth Hormone	Baseline, day 28 and 72 for both groups.
Effect of Dolutegravir on Lipid Profile Including Lipid Fractions	Total Cholesterol	Baseline, day 28 and 72 for both groups.
Effect of Dolutegravir on Lipid Profile Including Lipid Fractions	Triglycerides	Baseline, day 28 and 72 for both groups.
Changes in Food Intake by Food Preference Questionnaire	Changes in food intake Food preference questionnaire for adolescents and adults (FPQ) 1- Scoring of Individual Items Each food item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale: = Dislike a lot; = Dislike a little; = Neither like nor dislike; = Like a little; = Like a lot Responses marked as "Not applicable" are treated as missing and not included in scoring. Food Category Scores Items are grouped into six categories, each scored by averaging across the foods in that group: Vegetables (18 items) Fruits (7 items) Meat/Fish (12 items) Dairy (10 items) Snacks (9 items) Starches (6 items) The category score is the mean of item scores in that category (sum ÷ number of items). For both individual items and category scores: Minimum possible score = 1 ("Dislike a lot") Maximum possible score = 5 ("Like a lot") Direction of Scoring On the FPQ, higher scores reflect greater liking of the foods, Lower scores indicate less liking. 'scores on a scale'	Baseline, day 28 and 72 for both groups.
Change in Sleep Parameters by Sleep Questionnaires	changes in sleep parameters by Pittsbrough Sleep Quality Index (PSQI); Scoring ComponentsThe PSQI has 19 self-rated items, grouped into 7 component scores:Subjective sleep qualitySleep latencySleep durationHabitual sleep efficiencySleep disturbancesUse of sleeping medicationDaytime dysfunctionEach component is scored from 0 to 3, where higher values indicate worse sleep in that domain.; Global Score The 7 component scores are summed to yield a global PSQI score ranging from 0 to 21. 0 = no difficulty / very good sleep quality 21 = severe difficulties / very poor sleep quality 3- Interpretation A global score > 5 is commonly used as a cut-off to distinguish between "good sleepers" (≤5) and "poor sleepers" (>5). 4- Direction of Scoring On the PSQI, higher scores indicate worse outcomes (poorer sleep quality). Lower scores indicate better sleep quality. Unit of Measue = Score on a scale	Baseline, day 28 and 72 for both groups.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Ruth Bryne, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 20, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 31, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): January 10, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 20, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 22, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): February 25, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): December 2, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 27, 2025
• Last Verified: November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Insulin; HIV; Dolutegravir
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Metabolic Diseases; Glucose Metabolism Disorders; Hyperinsulinism; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Insulin Resistance; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Anti-Infective Agents; Antiviral Agents; Enzyme Inhibitors; Anti-HIV Agents; Anti-Retroviral Agents; HIV Integrase Inhibitors; Integrase Inhibitors; dolutegravir
• Other Study ID Numbers: CRF003

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No