BRAF Controls the Effects of Metformin on Neuroblast Cell Divisions in C. elegans.

ABSTRACT: Metformin has demonstrated substantial potential for use in cancer treatments. Liver kinase B (LKB)-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and mTOR are reported to be the main targets of metformin in relation to its ability to prevent cancer cell proliferation. However, the role of metformin in the control of neoplastic cancer cell growth is possibly independent of LKB-AMPK and mTOR. Using C. elegans as a model, we found that the neuronal Q-cell divisions in L1-arrested worms were suppressed following metformin treatment in AMPK-deficient mutants, suggesting that the mechanism by which metformin suppresses these cell divisions is independent of AMPK. Our results showed that the mTOR pathway indeed played a role in controlling germ cell proliferation, but it was not involved in the neuronal Q-

SUBMITTER: Qu Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7795703 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature