ArticlePloS one2013
Metformin attenuates the exacerbation of the allergic eosinophilic inflammation in high fat-diet-induced obesity in mice.
Article in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 81 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
81 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 150 citations in OpenAlex.
- Metformin use & asthma outcomes in patients with concurrent diabetes & bronchial asthma: A systematic review & meta-analysis.The Indian journal of medical research · 2025 · on this mapPooled it
- Association of Metformin Use with Asthma Exacerbation in Patients with Concurrent Asthma and Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.Canadian respiratory journal · 2020 · on this mapPooled it
- Targeting of MAPK-ERK1/2 signaling by metformin in asthma: an updated mechanistic insight.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026Review
- Metformin Promotes Acquisition of Immune Tolerance in Allergen-Specific Immunotherapy.Allergy, asthma & immunology research · 2026Article
- Metformin for asthma exacerbations.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2026Article
- Antidiabetic drug and chronic respiratory disease in type 2 diabetes: a network meta-analysis and Mendelian randomization analysis.Therapeutic advances in endocrinology and metabolism · 2026Review
- Metformin use is associated with reduced systemic steroid courses among pediatric asthma patients with diabetes or elevated blood glucose levels.Respiratory medicine · 2025 · on this mapObservational
- Metformin and Risk of New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation in Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Article
- Metformin effects on respiratory and metabolic outcomes in asthma and metabolic syndrome: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2025Article
- AMPK Regulates M1 Macrophage Polarization through the JAK2/STAT3 Signaling Pathway to Attenuate Airway Inflammation in Obesity-Related Asthma.Inflammation · 2025Article
- The role of type 2 diabetes in the severity of adult asthma.Current opinion in allergy and clinical immunology · 2025Review
- Diabetes-inducing effects of bronchial asthma.World journal of diabetes · 2025Article
- Dendritic cell immunometabolism - a potential therapeutic target for allergic diseases.International journal of medical sciences · 2025Review
- Corticosteroid insensitivity in obese asthma: potential mechanisms and therapeutic perspectives.Frontiers in allergy · 2025Review
- Essential role of Card11 in airway hyperresponsiveness in high-fat diet-induced obese mice.Experimental & molecular medicine · 2024Article
- Obesity-related Asthma: A Pathobiology-based Overview of Existing and Emerging Treatment Approaches.American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine · 2024Review
- Asthma and Hyperglycemia: Exploring the Interconnected Pathways.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Anti-Inflammatory Potential of the Anti-Diabetic Drug Metformin in the Prevention of Inflammatory Complications and Infectious Diseases Including COVID-19: A Narrative Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Unraveling the Link between Ιnsulin Resistance and Bronchial Asthma.Biomedicines · 2024Review
21 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
A positive relationship between obesity and asthma has been well documented. The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activator metformin reverses obesity-associated insulin resistance (IR) and inhibits different types of inflammatory responses. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of metformin on the exacerbation of allergic eosinophilic inflammation in obese mice. Male C57BL6/J mice were fed for 10 weeks with high-fat diet (HFD) to induce obesity. The cell infiltration and inflammatory markers in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and lung tissue were evaluated at 48 h after ovalbumin (OVA) challenge. HFD obese mice displayed peripheral IR that was fully reversed by metformin (300 mg/kg/day, two weeks). OVA-challenge resulted in higher influx of total cell and eosinophils in lung tissue of obese mice compared with lean group. As opposed, the cell number in BAL fluid of obese mice was reduced compared with lean group. Metformin significantly reduced the tissue eosinophil infiltration and prevented the reduction of cell counts in BAL fluid. In obese mice, greater levels of eotaxin, TNF-α and NOx, together with increased iNOS protein expression were observed, all of which were normalized by metformin. In addition, metformin nearly abrogated the binding of NF-κB subunit p65 to the iNOS promoter gene in lung tissue of obese mice. Lower levels of phosphorylated AMPK and its downstream target acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACC) were found in lung tissue of obese mice, which were restored by metformin. In separate experiments, the selective iNOS inhibitor aminoguanidine (20 mg/kg, 3 weeks) and the anti-TNF-α mAb (2 mg/kg) significantly attenuated the aggravation of eosinophilic inflammation in obese mice. In conclusion, metformin inhibits the TNF-α-induced inflammatory signaling and NF-κB-mediated iNOS expression in lung tissue of obese mice. Metformin may be a good pharmacological strategy to control the asthma exacerbation in obese individuals.
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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.