A new class of antidiabetic agents, the DPP-4 inhibitors, are thought to protect endogenously secreted incretin hormones (e.g., GLP-1 and GIP) from proteolytic degradation and inactivation. Since GLP-1 has antidiabetogenic properties, an augmentation of meal-related responses of intact, biologically active GLP-1 can be expected to increase the impact of incretin stimulation to insulin secretory responses. The incretin effect in type 2 diabetic patients is reduced due to an impaired secretion of GLP-1 and a reduced insulinotropic effectiveness of GIP. Therefore, sitagliptin (DPP-4 inhibitor) will be studied in 20 type 2-diabetic patients, who will be treated sequentially (crossover design) with (a) placebo, (b) metformin alone, (c) Sitagliptin alone, and (d) a combination of metformin and Sitagliptin for periods of 6 days (with a washout period of 3 days between treatment. The insulin secretory response (insulin, C-peptide, insulin secretion rates determined by deconvolution analysis) will be compared between experiments with oral glucose (75 g) and "isoglycaemic" intravenous glucose infusions (20% glucose i.v.). The difference represents the "incretin effect". It is expected that the incretin effect in type 2-diabetic patients will be enhanced with sitagliptin treatment, especially combined with metformin.