ArticleScientific reports2013
Metformin impairs glucose consumption and survival in Calu-1 cells by direct inhibition of hexokinase-II.
Article in Scientific reports, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 70 papers.
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Who cites it
70 citing papers in PubMed, 120 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparison of Metformin Combinations with Other Repurposed Drugs in the Treatment of Hamster Fibrosarcoma: A Review.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Metabolism, a Blossoming Target for Small-Molecule Anticancer Drugs.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Diabetes Mellitus and the Prostate: The Odd Pairing.Cureus · 2025Review
- Metformin-Induced Apoptosis Is Mediated Through Mitochondrial VDAC1.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Targeting Glycolysis for Treatment of Breast Cancer Resistance: Current Progress and Future Prospects.International journal of biological sciences · 2025Review
- Extrinsic and Cell-Intrinsic Stress in the Immune Tumor Micro-Environment.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Targeting metabolism to enhance immunotherapy within tumor microenvironment.Acta pharmacologica Sinica · 2024Review
- Metformin induces ZFP36 by mTORC1 inhibition in cervical cancer-derived cell lines.BMC cancer · 2024Article
- The regulatory roles and clinical significance of glycolysis in tumor.Cancer communications (London, England) · 2024Review
- Biochemical hallmarks-targeting antineoplastic nanotherapeutics.Bioactive materials · 2024Review
- Research Progress on the Use of Metformin in Leukemia Treatment.Current treatment options in oncology · 2024Review
- The Promoting Role of HK II in Tumor Development and the Research Progress of Its Inhibitors.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Action Mechanism of Metformin and Its Application in Hematological Malignancy Treatments: A Review.Biomolecules · 2023Review
- Metformin and Its Immune-Mediated Effects in Various Diseases.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Virtual Screening and Biological Activity Evaluation of New Potent Inhibitors Targeting Hexokinase-II.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Metformin Improves Ovarian Cancer Sensitivity to Paclitaxel and Platinum-Based Drugs: A Review of In Vitro Findings.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Early effects of LPS-induced neuroinflammation on the rat hippocampal glycolytic pathway.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2022Article
- Metformin: A promising drug for human cancers.Oncology letters · 2022Review
- Metformin Enhances TKI-Afatinib Cytotoxic Effect, Causing Downregulation of Glycolysis, Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition, and EGFR-Signaling Pathway Activation in Lung Cancer Cells.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Loss of hexokinase 1 sensitizes ovarian cancer to high-dose metformin.Cancer & metabolism · 2021Article
10 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The anti-hyperglycaemic drug metformin has important anticancer properties as shown by the direct inhibition of cancer cells proliferation. Tumor cells avidly use glucose as a source for energy production and cell building blocks. Critical to this phenotype is the production of glucose-6-phosphate (G6P), catalysed by hexokinases (HK) I and II, whose role in glucose retention and metabolism is highly advantageous for cell survival and proliferation. Here we show that metformin impairs the enzymatic function of HKI and II in Calu-1 cells. This inhibition virtually abolishes cell glucose uptake and phosphorylation as documented by the reduced entrapment of ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose. In-silico models indicate that this action is due to metformin capability to mimic G6P features by steadily binding its pocket in HKII. The impairment of this energy source results in mitochondrial depolarization and subsequent cell death. These results could represent a starting point to open effective strategies in cancer prevention and treatment.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.