ArticleDiabetology & metabolic syndrome2019
Long-term treatment with metformin in the prevention of fatty liver in Zucker diabetic fatty rats.
Article in Diabetology & metabolic syndrome, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- Metabolic and biochemical profiling reveals phenotypic heterogeneity in Zucker diabetic fatty rats.Animal models and experimental medicine · 2026Article
- Metformin mitigates metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis in rats by altering steatosis-related micro-RNAs and Aquaporin-9.Journal of molecular histology · 2026Article
- From NAFPD to MAFPD: a literature review of implications of a nomenclature change.Hepatobiliary surgery and nutrition · 2025Review
- Protective effect of capsaicin on AKT1 and MAPK1 expression in the liver of mice (Open veterinary journal · 2025Article
- Advances in the Use of Metformin for Liver Disease.Current medicinal chemistry · 2025Review
- Troxerutin, a herbal metabolite with antidiabetic and antihypercholesterolemic potential, regulates metabolic gene activity in male diabetic rats.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Metformin Inefficiency to Lower Lipids in Vitamin B12 Deficient HepG2 Cells Is Alleviated via Adiponectin-AMPK Axis.Nutrients · 2023Article
- Effect of Metformin Treatment on Serum Metabolic Profile Changes in Lean and Obese Zucker Rat Model for Fatty Liver Disease.Biomolecules · 2023Article
- Metformin induces pyroptosis in leptin receptor-defective hepatocytes via overactivation of the AMPK axis.Cell death & disease · 2023Article
- The Effects of Metformin Treatment on Diabetic Albino Rats' Pancreas, Liver, and Kidney Histology.Archives of Razi Institute · 2023Article
- Correlation between long-term use of metformin and incidence of NAFLD among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A real-world cohort study.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2022Article
- Short-Term Metformin Treatment EnrichesFrontiers in microbiology · 2022Article
- Effects of Metformin on Hepatic Steatosis in Adults with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Diabetes: Insights from the Cellular to Patient Levels.Gut and liver · 2021Review
- Effects of obesity and 10 weeks metformin treatment on liver steatosis.Biomedical reports · 2021Article
- Free Triiodothyronine Is Independently Associated with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Hospitalized Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients.BioMed research international · 2021Article
- Metformin Ameliorates Testicular Function and Spermatogenesis in Male Mice with High-Fat and High-Cholesterol Diet-Induced Obesity.Nutrients · 2020Article
- Pathophysiological Features of Rat Models of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis.In vivo (Athens, Greece)Review
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTreatment with metformin, the biguanide of hepatic insulin sensitizer, in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been reported with contradictory findings regarding the effectiveness on blood lipids and liver histology. In this study, we aimed to explore the preventive effects of metformin on NAFLD in Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats.
methodsMale ZDF rats and Zucker lean rats aged 4-8 weeks were subjected to vehicle or metformin treatment for 6 months. Liver cDNA microarray assay, and protein semiquantitative and histological examinations were performed.
resultsData demonstrated that ZDF rats developed hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, liver deficiency and hepatocyte degeneration. The metformin treatment significantly reduced post-load blood glucose levels, but not blood lipid profiles or liver enzyme levels. Hepatocyte degeneration was not attenuated after the treatment. The metformin-treated ZDF rats showed activation of AMP-activated protein kinase by Western blot and overexpression of cytochrome c oxidase by immunofluorescent microscopy. Gene expression microarray assay demonstrated that a panel of genes participating in glucose and lipid metabolisms were changed in the ZDF rats, and most of the altered genes involved in glucose and cholesterol metabolisms, but not those in fatty acid metabolisms, were corrected by the metformin treatment. No genes associated with inflammation, apoptosis, fibrosis, or cell death were overexpressed in the metformin-treated ZDF rats.
conclusionsThese results suggest that long-term metformin treatment presents no preventive effect for NAFLD in ZDF rats.
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