Metformin; a mini-review to its antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties

Abbaszadeh, Abolfazl; Koushki, Sahar; Koushki, Shirin; Eskandarzadeh, Marzieh; Hasanvand, Amin

doi:10.15171/jrip.2018.02

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…8). Metformin has been shown to attenuate proinflammatory response in several diseases 71–73 . Therefore, metformin-induced AMPK activation suppresses the uncontrolled inflammation triggered by the presence of the parasite in the blood, protecting the liver from injury and consequent lipid accumulation, which will culminate with inhibition of the development and multiplication of Plasmodium in the blood.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasmodium Infection Induces Dyslipidemia and a Hepatic Lipogenic State in the Host through the Inhibition of the AMPK-ACC Pathway

Kluck

Wendt

Império

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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Malaria is a major parasitic disease of humans and is a health public problem that affects more than 100 countries. In 2017, it caused nearly half a million deaths out of 219 million infections. Malaria is caused by the protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium and is transmitted by female mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles. Once in the bloodstream, Plasmodium merozoites invade erythrocytes and proliferate until the cells lyses and release new parasites that invade other erythrocytes. Remarkably, they can manipulate the vertebrate host’s lipid metabolism pathways, since they cannot synthesize lipid classes that are essential for their development and replication. In this study, we show that mice infected with Plasmodium chabaudi present a completely different plasma profile from control mice, with marked hyperproteinemia, hypertriglyceridemia, hypoglycemia, and hypocholesterolemia. In addition, white adipose and hepatic tissue and analyses from infected animals revealed the accumulation of triacylglycerol in both tissues and free fatty acids and free cholesterol in the liver. Hepatic mRNA and protein expression of key enzymes and transcription factors involved in lipid metabolism were also altered by P. chabaudi infection, leading to a lipogenic state. The enzyme 5′ AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a master regulator of cell energetic metabolism, was also modulated by the parasite, which reduced AMPK phosphorylation levels upon infection. Pretreatment with metformin for 21 days followed by infection with P. chabaudi was effective in preventing infection of mice and also lowered the hepatic accumulation of lipids while activating AMPK. Together, these results provide new and important information on the specific molecular mechanisms induced by the malaria parasite to regulate hepatic lipid metabolism in order to facilitate its development, proliferation, and lifespan in its vertebrate host.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%