Pleiotropic Effects of Metformin on the Chemotherapy Response of HPV-Positive Cancer Cells.

ABSTRACT: Improved treatment strategies for HPV-positive cancers are urgently required. The viral E6/E7 oncoproteins are essential for the proliferation of HPV-positive cancer cells and considered attractive therapeutic targets. Metformin is proposed to be repurposed for cancer therapy, but this is under controversial debate. We previously demonstrated that E6/E7 expression and the proliferation of HPV-positive cancer cells are repressed by Metformin. Here, we explore the effects of Metformin on the phenotype of HPV-positive cancer cells in detail, either applied as monotreatment or in combination with chemotherapeutic agents. We provide evidence that the downregulation of E6/E7 is not the primary mechanism underlying Metformin's growth-inhibitory effect in HPV-positive cancer cells. Specifically, c

SUBMITTER: Avenhaus A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12169209 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature