ArticleFrontiers in oncology2021
Metformin Downregulates PD-L1 Expression in Esophageal Squamous Cell Catrcinoma by Inhibiting IL-6 Signaling Pathway.
Article in Frontiers in oncology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 19 papers.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- DDR1 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: bioinformatics discovery and experimental validation.Translational cancer research · 2026Article
- Metformin enhances survival with immune checkpoint inhibitors in cancer patients: A meta-analysis.Oncology letters · 2026Article
- Metformin in gastrointestinal cancers and inflammatory bowel disease: Unraveling its mechanisms and therapeutic applications.iScience · 2026Review
- The multidimensional regulatory network of the PD‑1/PD‑L1 axis in the esophageal squamous cell carcinoma microenvironment: Implications for novel combination therapies and precision immunotherapy (Review).Oncology reports · 2026Review
- The central role of IL-6 in the differential effects of GLP-1 receptor agonists and metformin across multiple health conditions.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- YAP as a therapeutic target in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: insights and strategies.Annals of medicine · 2025Review
- Drug functional remapping: a new promise for tumor immunotherapy.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Review
- Tocilizumab improves the efficacy of anti-PD-1 in a patient with advanced gastroesophageal junction cancer: a case report.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Article
- Metformin Treatment Is Not Associated with Altered PD-L1 Expression in Diabetic Patients with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Metformin Suppresses Both PD-L1 Expression in Cancer Cells and Cancer-Induced PD-1 Expression in Immune Cells to Promote Antitumor Immunity.Annals of laboratory medicine · 2024Article
- The role of the immunosuppressive PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint pathway in the aging process and age-related diseases.Journal of molecular medicine (Berlin, Germany) · 2024Review
- The IL-6 signaling pathway contributes critically to the immunomodulatory mechanism of human decidua-derived mesenchymal stromal cells.iScience · 2024Article
- Metformin in Esophageal Carcinoma: Exploring Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Insights.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Multitarget, multiagent PLGA nanoparticles for simultaneous tumor eradication and TME remodeling in a melanoma mouse model.Drug delivery and translational research · 2024Article
- The Metformin Immunoregulatory Actions in Tumor Suppression and Normal Tissues Protection.Current medicinal chemistry · 2024Review
- Oxygen microcapsules improve immune checkpoint blockade by ameliorating hypoxia condition in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.Bioactive materials · 2023Article
- Mechanisms of esophageal cancer metastasis and treatment progress.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Review
- Metformin and Cancer, an Ambiguanidous Relationship.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Metformin Synergizes with PD-L1 Monoclonal Antibody Enhancing Tumor Immune Response in Treating Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer and Its Molecular Mechanism Investigation.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo characterize the mechanism by which metformin inhibits PD-L1 expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and to evaluate the effect of metformin on the antitumor immune response.
methodsThe Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database was used to analyze the correlations between IL-6 and prognosis and between IL-6 and PD-L1 gene expression in esophageal cancer. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), Western blotting and immunofluorescence were used to study the mechanism by which metformin affects PD-L1 expression. Additionally, T cell function was assessed in a coculture system containing ESCC cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) treated with metformin or IL-6. In an
resultsThe TCGA esophageal cancer data showed that IL-6 expression was positively correlated with PD-L1 expression and that patients with high IL-6 expression had a significantly lower overall survival rate than patients with low IL-6 expression. PD-L1 expression in ESCC cell lines was significantly inhibited by metformin
conclusionsMetformin downregulated PD-L1 expression by blocking the IL-6/JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway in ESCC, which enhanced the antitumor immune response.
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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.