Metformin induces both caspase-dependent and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-dependent cell death in breast cancer cells.

ABSTRACT: There is substantial evidence that metformin, a drug used to treat type 2 diabetics, is potentially useful as a therapeutic agent for cancer. However, a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms through which metformin promotes cell-cycle arrest and cell death of cancer cells is necessary. It will also be important to understand how the response of tumor cells differs from normal cells and why some tumor cells are resistant to the effects of metformin. We have found that exposure to metformin induces cell death in all but one line, MDA-MB-231, in a panel of breast cancer cell lines. MCF10A nontransformed breast epithelial cells were resistant to the cytotoxic effects of metformin, even after extended exposure to the drug. In sensitive lines, cell death was mediated by both apoptosis

SUBMITTER: Zhuang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3096726 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature