Evidence that metformin promotes fibrosis resolution <i>via</i> activating alveolar epithelial stem cells and FGFR2b signaling.

ABSTRACT: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive disease lacking effective therapy. Metformin, an antidiabetic medication, has shown promising therapeutic properties in preclinical fibrosis models; however, its precise cellular targets and associated mechanisms in fibrosis resolution remain incompletely defined. Most research on metformin's effects has focused on mesenchymal and inflammatory responses with limited attention to epithelial cells. In this study, we utilized Sftpc lineage-traced and Fgfr2b conditional knockout mice, along with BMP2/PPARγ and AMPK inhibitors, to explore metformin's impact on alveolar epithelial cells in a bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis model and cell culture. We found that metformin increased the proliferation and differentiation

SUBMITTER: Lv Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12491683 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature