Metformin directly acts on mitochondria to alter cellular bioenergetics.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Metformin is widely used in the treatment of diabetes, and there is interest in 'repurposing' the drug for cancer prevention or treatment. However, the mechanism underlying the metabolic effects of metformin remains poorly understood.

Methods

We performed respirometry and stable isotope tracer analyses on cells and isolated mitochondria to investigate the impact of metformin on mitochondrial functions.

Results

We show that metformin decreases mitochondrial respiration, causing an increase in the fraction of mitochondrial respiration devoted to uncoupling reactions. Thus, cells treated with metformin become energetically inefficient, and display increased aerobic glycolysis and reduced glucose metabolism through the citric acid cycle. Conflicting prior studi

SUBMITTER: Andrzejewski S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4147388 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature