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Open AccessJournal ArticleDOI

Role of AMP-activated protein kinase in mechanism of metformin action

TLDR
It is reported that metformin activates AMPK in hepatocytes; as a result, acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) activity is reduced, fatty acid oxidation is induced, and expression of lipogenic enzymes is suppressed.
Abstract
Metformin is a widely used drug for treatment of type 2 diabetes with no defined cellular mechanism of action. Its glucose-lowering effect results from decreased hepatic glucose production and increased glucose utilization. Metformin's beneficial effects on circulating lipids have been linked to reduced fatty liver. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a major cellular regulator of lipid and glucose metabolism. Here we report that metformin activates AMPK in hepatocytes; as a result, acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) activity is reduced, fatty acid oxidation is induced, and expression of lipogenic enzymes is suppressed. Activation of AMPK by metformin or an adenosine analogue suppresses expression of SREBP-1, a key lipogenic transcription factor. In metformin-treated rats, hepatic expression of SREBP-1 (and other lipogenic) mRNAs and protein is reduced; activity of the AMPK target, ACC, is also reduced. Using a novel AMPK inhibitor, we find that AMPK activation is required for metformin's inhibitory effect on glucose production by hepatocytes. In isolated rat skeletal muscles, metformin stimulates glucose uptake coincident with AMPK activation. Activation of AMPK provides a unified explanation for the pleiotropic beneficial effects of this drug; these results also suggest that alternative means of modulating AMPK should be useful for the treatment of metabolic disorders.

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Effect of metformin on survival outcomes in diabetic patients with triple receptor-negative breast cancer.

TL;DR: The authors explored the association between metformin use and survival outcomes in patients with triple receptor‐negative breast cancer (TNBC) who were receiving adjuvant chemotherapy.
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Policosanol Inhibits Cholesterol Synthesis in Hepatoma Cells by Activation of AMP-Kinase

TL;DR: Results suggest that policosanol or a metabolite decreases HMG-CoA reductase activity by activating AMP-kinase, and are consistent with this hypothesis.
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An energetic tale of AMPK-independent effects of metformin

TL;DR: This issue of the JCI, Foretz et al. refute the hypothesis that AMPK is dispensable for the effects of metformin on hepatic glucose output in primary hepatocytes; rather, their data suggest that the antidiabetic effects of meetformin in the liver are mediated directly by reducing energy charge.
Journal ArticleDOI

AMP-activated protein kinase can induce apoptosis of insulin-producing MIN6 cells through stimulation of c-Jun-N-terminal kinase

TL;DR: It is concluded that prolonged stimulation of AMPK can induce apoptosis of insulin-producing cells through an activation pathway that involves JNK, and subsequently, caspase-3.
Journal ArticleDOI

mTOR inhibition: A promising strategy for stabilization of atherosclerotic plaques

TL;DR: It is hypothesized that both statins and metformin are known to inhibit mTOR via AMPK activation so that they would fully exploit the beneficial effects of mTOR inhibition in atherosclerosis.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI

Evidence that metformin exerts its anti-diabetic effects through inhibition of complex 1 of the mitochondrial respiratory chain

TL;DR: It is concluded that the drug's pharmacological effects are mediated, at least in part, through a time-dependent, self-limiting inhibition of the respiratory chain that restrains hepatic gluconeogenesis while increasing glucose utilization in peripheral tissues.
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The mitochondrial carnitine palmitoyltransferase system. From concept to molecular analysis.

TL;DR: Key developments of the last 20 years that have led to the current understanding of the physiology of the CPT system, the structure of theCPT isoforms, the chromosomal localization of their respective genes, and the identification of mutations in the human population are reviewed.
Journal ArticleDOI

The AMP‐Activated Protein Kinase

TL;DR: The central hypothesis is that the AMP-activated protein kinase cascade appears to be an ancient system which evolved to protect cells against the effects of nutritional or environmental stress, and protects the cell by switching off ATP-consuming pathways and switching on alternative pathways for ATP generation.
Journal ArticleDOI

Dimethylbiguanide inhibits cell respiration via an indirect effect targeted on the respiratory chain complex I.

TL;DR: The results suggest the existence of a new cell-signaling pathway targeted to the respiratory chain complex I with a persistent effect after cessation of the signaling process.
Journal ArticleDOI

Metabolic effects of metformin in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

TL;DR: Metformin acts primarily by decreasing hepatic glucose output, largely by inhibiting gluconeogenesis, and also seems to induce weight loss, preferentially involving adipose tissue.
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