ArticleOncoTargets and therapy2016
Metformin induces apoptosis of human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells by activating an AMPK/p53/miR-23a/FOXA1 pathway.
Article in OncoTargets and therapy, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 50 citations in OpenAlex.
- Research Progress on the Molecular Mechanism of Metformin Regulating AMPK Signaling Pathway in Inhibiting Liver Cancer.OncoTargets and therapy · 2026Review
- Anti-diabetic medications and cancer: links beyond glycemic and body weight control.Precision clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Tumor-secreted AGR2 induces dendritic cell dysfunction and impairs immunotherapy efficacy in LKB1-deficient cancer.Journal for immunotherapy of cancer · 2025Article
- The role of lipid metabolic interactions in reshaping the tumor microenvironment.Acta biochimica et biophysica Sinica · 2025Article
- Stable self-assembled oral metformin-bridged nanocochleates against hepatocellular carcinoma.Drug delivery and translational research · 2025Article
- Review
- A Critical Review on microRNAs as Prognostic Biomarkers in Laryngeal Carcinoma.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- The Cardioprotective and Anticancer Effects of SGLT2 Inhibitors:JACC. CardioOncology · 2024Review
- Mechanistic Insights about Sorafenib-, Valproic Acid- and Metformin-Induced Cell Death in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Mechanisms of Regulation of the Expression of miRNAs and lncRNAs by Metformin in Ovarian Cancer.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Action Mechanism of Metformin and Its Application in Hematological Malignancy Treatments: A Review.Biomolecules · 2023Review
- Phosphoproteomics Reveals the AMPK Substrate Network in Response to DNA Damage and Histone Acetylation.Genomics, proteomics & bioinformatics · 2022Article
- Role of metformin in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.Zhong nan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Central South University. Medical sciences · 2022Article
- Increased FOXA1 levels induce apoptosis and inhibit proliferation in FOXA1-low expressing basal breast cancer cells.American journal of cancer research · 2022Article
- Effects of metformin on Sonic hedgehog subgroup medulloblastoma progression:Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Article
- Targeted Pyroptosis Is a Potential Therapeutic Strategy for Cancer.Journal of oncology · 2022Review
- Antitumor Effects and Mechanisms of Metabolic Syndrome Medications on Hepatocellular Carcinoma.Journal of hepatocellular carcinoma · 2022Review
- Dual anticancer role of metformin: an old drug regulating AMPK dependent/independent pathways in metabolic, oncogenic/tumorsuppresing and immunity context.American journal of cancer research · 2021Review
- Adenine inhibits growth of hepatocellular carcinoma cells via AMPK-mediated S phase arrest and apoptotic cascade.International journal of medical sciences · 2020Article
- Aberrant lipid metabolism as a therapeutic target in liver cancer.Expert opinion on therapeutic targets · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The antidiabetic drug metformin has been shown to possess antitumor functions in many types of cancers. Although studies have revealed its beneficial effects on the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the detailed molecular mechanism underlying this event remains largely unknown. In this work, we showed that miR-23a was significantly induced upon metformin treatment; inhibition of miR-23a abrogated the proapoptotic effect of metformin in HepG2 cells. We next established forkhead box protein A1 (FOXA1) as the functional target of miR-23a, and silencing FOXA1 mimicked the effect of metformin. Moreover, the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and the expression of p53 were increased upon metformin treatment, and the inhibition of p53 abrogated the induction of miR-23a by metformin, suggesting that AMPK/p53 signaling axis is responsible for the induction of miR-23a by metformin. In summary, we unraveled a novel AMPK/p53/miR-23a/FOXA1 axis in the regulation of apoptosis in HCC, and the application of metformin could, therefore, be effective in the treatment of HCC.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.