title: Metformin: from mechanisms of action to therapies.
abstract: Metformin is currently the first-line drug treatment for type 2 diabetes. Besides its glucose-lowering effect, there is interest in actions of the drug of potential relevance to cardiovascular diseases and cancer. However, the underlying mechanisms of action remain elusive. Convincing data place energy metabolism at the center of metformin's mechanism of action in diabetes and may also be of importance in cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Metformin-induced activation of the energy-sensor AMPK is well documented, but may not account for all actions of the drug. Here, we summarize current knowledge about the different AMPK-dependent and AMPK-independent mechanisms underlying metformin action.
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U1016, Institut Cochin, Paris, France; CNRS, UMR8104, Paris, France; Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, France.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Foretz
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands; Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Guigas
authors.affiliation: Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique, Pôle de Recherche Cardiovasculaire, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bertrand
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, McGill University and Segal Cancer Centre of the Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pollak
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U1016, Institut Cochin, Paris, France; CNRS, UMR8104, Paris, France; Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, France. Electronic address: benoit.viollet@inserm.fr.
authors.forename: Benoit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Viollet
mesh_terms: D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008687:Metformin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010085:Oxidative Phosphorylation / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D008687:Metformin; D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases