Metformin Alleviates Hepatosteatosis by Restoring SIRT1-Mediated Autophagy Induction via an AMP-Activated Protein Kinase-Independent Pathway
Open accessAbstract
Metformin activates both PRKA and SIRT1. Furthermore, autophagy is induced by either the PRKA-MTOR-ULK1 or SIRT1-FOXO signaling pathways. We aimed to elucidate the mechanism by which metformin alleviates hepatosteatosis by examining the molecular interplay between SIRT1, PRKA, and autophagy. ob/ob mice were divided into 3 groups: one with ad libitum feeding of a standard chow diet, one with 300 mg/kg intraperitoneal metformin injections, and one with 3 g/d caloric restriction (CR) for a period of 4 wk. Primary hepatocytes or HepG2 cells were treated with oleic acid (OA) plus high glucose in the absence or presence of metformin. Both CR and metformin significantly improved body weight and glucose homeostasis, along with hepatic steatosis, in ob/ob mice. Furthermore, CR and metformin both upregulated SIRT1 expression and also stimulated autophagy induction and flux in vivo. Metformin also prevented OA with high glucose-induced suppression of both SIRT1 expression and SIRT1-dependent activation of autophagy machinery, thereby alleviating intracellular lipid accumulation in vitro. Interestingly, metformin treatment upregulated SIRT1 expression and activated PRKA even after siRNA-mediated knockdown of PRKAA1/2 and SIRT1, respectively. Taken together, these results suggest that metformin alleviates hepatic steatosis through PRKA-independent, SIRT1-mediated effects on the autophagy machinery.
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Song et al. reported a link between SIRT1, AMPK, and metformin-induced autophagy, supporting a synergistic relationship between sirtuin-1 and metformin-mediated effects on aging.
“Song et al. have reported a link between SIRT1, AMPK, and metformin-induced autophagy thereby supporting a synergistic relationship between the deacetylase, sirtuin-1, and metformin-mediated effects on aging (232).”
From A Critical Review of the Evidence That Metformin Is a Putative Anti-Aging Drug That Enhances Healthspan and Extends Lifespan (2021) · cites this paper as [232]
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- Authors
- Song, Y. M., Lee, Y.-H., Kim, J.-W., Ham, D.-S., Kang, E.-S., Cha, B. S., Lee, H. C., & Lee, B.-W.
- Affiliations
- Yonsei University (KR)
- The Catholic University of Korea Seoul St. Mary's Hospital (KR)
- Corresponding author
- Lee, Byung-Wan
- Venue
- Autophagy
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2014-11-14
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 46-59
- ISSN
- 1554-8627 (ISSN-L)
- 1554-8635
- PMC
- PMC4502778
- OpenAlex
- W2087887173
- Cited by
- 332
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 19 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 36 · 2023: 37 · 2022: 40 · 2021: 36 · 2020: 34 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 33 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 7
- FWCI
- 14.86
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Autophagy (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- YUHSpace (Yonsei University Medical Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- National Research Foundation
- National Research Foundation of Korea
- Ministry of Education, Science and Technology
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Autophagy in Disease and Therapy
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Geriatrics and Gerontology › Sirtuins and Resveratrol in Medicine
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Metabolism, Diabetes, and Cancer
- Keywords
- metformin, hepatic steatosis, SIRT1, AMPK, caloric restriction, ob/ob mice, oleic acid, high glucose, hepatic lipid accumulation, glucose homeostasis
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Autophagy, Blood Glucose, Body Weight, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Fatty Liver, Humans, Liver, Metformin, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Obese, Models, Biological, Phagosomes, Signal Transduction, Down-Regulation, Up-Regulation, Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases, Oleic Acid, Hepatocytes, Caloric Restriction, Lipid Metabolism, AMP-Activated Protein Kinases, Sirtuin 1, Hep G2 Cells
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