Potential Role of Metformin in Glucose and Amino Acid Metabolism in Uterine Cells
Faculty Mentor Information
Dr. Ayokunle Hodonu (Mentor) Northwest Nazarene University
Abstract
Metformin is a safe, low-cost drug that is often used to treat diseases such as diabetes, cancer, liver diseases, obesity, gestational diabetes etc. polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The interactions between Metformin, ovarian hormones and anabolic hormones such as insulin are not completely understood. We hypothesize that Metformin specifically regulates receptors, enzymes and transporters involved proximally and distally in glycogenic pathways and in protein synthesis. We treated immortalized uterine epithelial cells (GMMe) were treated with increasing concentrations of metformin in the presence of insulin at 50 ng/νl, and with estradiol. Quantitative analysis of gene expression through real-time PCR showed that treatment metformin steadily, and significantly upregulated amino acid transporters SLC3A2 and SLC7A5.
We posit that the drug Metformin not only regulates glycogenic enzymes and receptors, but it also regulates amino acid uptake into cells. In the future, transcriptomic data from Metformin-treated cells will likely expand our overall knowledge of the various effects of Metformin in glucose and amino acid-related pathways.
Potential Role of Metformin in Glucose and Amino Acid Metabolism in Uterine Cells
Metformin is a safe, low-cost drug that is often used to treat diseases such as diabetes, cancer, liver diseases, obesity, gestational diabetes etc. polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The interactions between Metformin, ovarian hormones and anabolic hormones such as insulin are not completely understood. We hypothesize that Metformin specifically regulates receptors, enzymes and transporters involved proximally and distally in glycogenic pathways and in protein synthesis. We treated immortalized uterine epithelial cells (GMMe) were treated with increasing concentrations of metformin in the presence of insulin at 50 ng/νl, and with estradiol. Quantitative analysis of gene expression through real-time PCR showed that treatment metformin steadily, and significantly upregulated amino acid transporters SLC3A2 and SLC7A5.
We posit that the drug Metformin not only regulates glycogenic enzymes and receptors, but it also regulates amino acid uptake into cells. In the future, transcriptomic data from Metformin-treated cells will likely expand our overall knowledge of the various effects of Metformin in glucose and amino acid-related pathways.