ArticleNature communications2019
Metformin induces lipogenic differentiation in myofibroblasts to reverse lung fibrosis.
Article in Nature communications, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 179 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
179 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 283 citations in OpenAlex.
- The role of fibrosis in endometriosis: a systematic review.Human reproduction update · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Effectiveness and mechanism of metformin in animal models of pulmonary fibrosis: A preclinical systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Pooled it
- Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis and systematic review.Respiratory research · 2021Pooled it
- Fibronectin's tensional state as a mechanical signature of fibrotic extracellular matrix in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis models.Matrix biology plus · 2026Article
- Effects of combination metformin and nintedanib therapy in a mouse model of irradiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis.Journal of radiation research · 2026Article
- Precision nanomedicine for pulmonary diseases: from molecular targeting to clinical translation.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2026Review
- Non-Resolving Repair in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: From Failed Cellular Transitions to Architectural Lock-In.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist prevents pulmonary fibrosis following acute COVID-19 infection associated with type 2 diabetes.Journal of virology · 2026Article
- BCL9 inhibition promotes fibroblast lipogenesis by regulating macrophage-fibroblast interactions to attenuate pulmonary fibrosis.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2026Article
- Article
- The inflammatory/fibrotic axis across organs: myelofibrosis as a model of reversibility.JCI insight · 2026Review
- An Extravascular Synergistic Cocktail Therapeutic Strategy Based on Lanifibranor Loaded Self-Healing Bioelastomer for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms.Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) · 2026Article
- Fibroblast adipogenesis restricts hemangioma growth through a PPARγ/Hippo-YAP/TAZ axis that promotes endothelial apoptosis and cell cycle arrest.Cell death discovery · 2026Article
- Zinc and metformin co-functionalized polyetheretherketone: A novel dental implant material tailored for the elderly.Journal of advanced research · 2026Article
- Enhanced fatty acid availability rewires fibroblasts metabolism and decreases collagen deposition in lung fibrosis.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2026Article
- Hallmarks of the ageing lung: 10 years later.The European respiratory journal · 2026Review
- A systematic scoping review and conceptual analysis of new-onset fibromyalgia manifestations after non-hospitalized COVID-19: empirics, definitions, methodologies, pathophysiology, mapping of literature, and knowledge gaps.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Article
- Pulmonary Fibrosis Beyond the Lung: Adipose Tissue as a Systemic Modifier of Fibrotic Remodeling.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Persistence of alveolar fibroblast-derived ADAMTS4+ cells in a preclinical model of delayed pulmonary fibrosis resolution.Nature communications · 2026Article
119 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
18 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a fatal disease in which the intricate alveolar network of the lung is progressively replaced by fibrotic scars. Myofibroblasts are the effector cells that excessively deposit extracellular matrix proteins thus compromising lung structure and function. Emerging literature suggests a correlation between fibrosis and metabolic alterations in IPF. In this study, we show that the first-line antidiabetic drug metformin exerts potent antifibrotic effects in the lung by modulating metabolic pathways, inhibiting TGFβ1 action, suppressing collagen formation, activating PPARγ signaling and inducing lipogenic differentiation in lung fibroblasts derived from IPF patients. Using genetic lineage tracing in a murine model of lung fibrosis, we show that metformin alters the fate of myofibroblasts and accelerates fibrosis resolution by inducing myofibroblast-to-lipofibroblast transdifferentiation. Detailed pathway analysis revealed a two-arm mechanism by which metformin accelerates fibrosis resolution. Our data report an antifibrotic role for metformin in the lung, thus warranting further therapeutic evaluation.
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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.