Metformin directly binds the alarmin HMGB1 and inhibits its proinflammatory activity.

ABSTRACT: Metformin is the first-line drug in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. In addition to its hypoglycemic effect, metformin has an anti-inflammatory function, but the precise mechanism promoting this activity remains unclear. High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is an alarmin that is released from necrotic cells and induces inflammatory responses by its cytokine-like activity and is, therefore, a target of anti-inflammatory therapies. Here we identified HMGB1 as a novel metformin-binding protein by affinity purification using a biotinylated metformin analogue. Metformin directly bound to the C-terminal acidic tail of HMGB1. Both in vitro and in vivo, metformin inhibited inflammatory responses induced by full-length HMGB1 but not by HMGB1 lacking the acidic tail. In an acetaminophen-

SUBMITTER: Horiuchi T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5437248 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature