ArticleCancer cell international2021
Metformin exerts anti-AR-negative prostate cancer activity via AMPK/autophagy signaling pathway.
Article in Cancer cell international, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 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
26 citing papers in PubMed, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- Trial
- Metabolic convergence of diabetes and prostate cancer: from dysglycemia to tumor microenvironment reprogramming.Mammalian genome : official journal of the International Mammalian Genome Society · 2026Review
- Influence of diabetes mellitus and anti-diabetic drugs on pathophysiology and prognosis for primary prostate cancer.International urology and nephrology · 2026Review
- Article
- Metformin and Flutamide Combination Therapy's Efficacy and Safety in Prostate Cancer Cell Lines.Prostate cancer · 2026Article
- Synergistic targeting strategies for prostate cancer.Nature reviews. Urology · 2025Review
- Mechanistic Insights into Autophagy-Dependent Cell Death (ADCD): A Novel Avenue for Cancer Therapy.Cells · 2025Review
- Review
- Dual role of autophagy in bone metastasis: mechanistic insights and therapeutic targeting.American journal of clinical and experimental urology · 2025Review
- BET inhibitors (BETi) influence oxidative phosphorylation metabolism by affecting mitochondrial dynamics leading to alterations in apoptotic pathways in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells.Cell proliferation · 2024Article
- Metformin-induced oxidative stress inhibits LNCaP prostate cancer cell survival.Molecular biology reports · 2024Article
- The role of autophagy in prostate cancer and prostatic diseases: a new therapeutic strategy.Prostate cancer and prostatic diseases · 2024Review
- Phenformin activates ER stress to promote autophagic cell death via NIBAN1 and DDIT4 in oral squamous cell carcinoma independent of AMPK.International journal of oral science · 2024Article
- Icariin exerts anti-tumor activity by inducing autophagy via AMPK/mTOR/ULK1 pathway in triple-negative breast cancer.Cancer cell international · 2024Article
- Metformin suppresses proliferation and glycolysis of gastric cancer by modulating ADAMTS12.Genes and environment : the official journal of the Japanese Environmental Mutagen Society · 2024Article
- Autophagy, a critical element in the aging male reproductive disorders and prostate cancer: a therapeutic point of view.Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E · 2023Review
- Metformin promotes cGAS/STING signaling pathway activation by blocking AKT phosphorylation in gastric cancer.Heliyon · 2023Article
- Mechanisms of Prostate Cancer Cells Survival and Their Therapeutic Targeting.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Metformin use and mortality in Asian, diabetic patients with prostate cancer on androgen deprivation therapy: A population-based study.The Prostate · 2023Article
- The endoplasmic reticulum stress response in prostate cancer.Nature reviews. Urology · 2022Review
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
Abstract
backgroundEncouraged by the goal of developing an effective treatment strategy for prostate cancer, this study explored the mechanism involved in metformin-mediated inhibition of AR-negative prostate cancer.
methodsCell behaviors of DU145 and PC3 cells were determined by CCK8 test, colony formation experiment and scratch test. Flow cytometry was used to detect cell cycle distribution. Cell autophagy was induced with metformin, and an autophagy inhibitor, 3-MA, was used to assess the level of autophagy. Detection of LC3B by immunofluorescence was conducted to determine autophagy level. Cell proliferation, autophagy and cell cycle were examined by performing Western blot. DU145 and PC3 cell lines were transfected with AMPK siRNA targeting AMPK-α1 and AMPK-α2. Tumor formation experiment was carried out to evaluate the anti-prostate cancer effect of metformin in vivo.
resultsThe inhibitory effect of metformin on the proliferation of prostate cancer cell lines was confirmed in this study, and the mechanism of such an effect was related to autophagy and the block of cell cycle at G0/G1 phase. Metformin also induced the activation of AMPK, markedly promoted expression of LC3II, and down-regulated the expression of p62/SQSTM1. Animal experiments showed that the tumor volume of metformin group was smaller, meanwhile, the levels of p-AMPK (Thr172) and LC3B were up-regulated and the Ki-67 level was down-regulated, without abnormalities in biochemical indicators.
conclusionThis study found that autophagy induction might be the mechanism through which metformin suppressed the growth of AR-negative prostate cancer. Moreover, the activation of AMPK/autophagy pathway might be a therapeutically effective for treating AR-negative prostate cancer in the future.
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.