Trial reportEuropean journal of endocrinology2022
Metformin maintains intrahepatic triglyceride content through increased hepatic de novo lipogenesis.
Trial report in European journal of endocrinology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
What it found
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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
20 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Molecular Mechanisms of Metformin's Action on Blood Lipid Profile in Diabetic Patients.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Human MASLD is a diurnal disease driven by multisystem insulin resistance and reduced insulin availability at night.Cell metabolism · 2026Observational
- HDL protein composition differs between young white European and South Asian men before and after weight gain.Clinical science (London, England : 1979) · 2025Article
- Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease: From a Very Low-Density Lipoprotein Perspective.Biomolecules · 2025Review
- Epigenetic crossroads in metabolic and cardiovascular health: the role of DNA methylation in type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.Cardiovascular diabetology · 2025Review
- Article
- Diverse Applications of the Anti-Diabetic Drug Metformin in Treating Human Disease.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Blood Pressure Patterns and Hepatosteatosis: Cardiometabolic Risk Assessment in Dipper and Non-Dipper Phenotypes.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Dissociation between liver fat content and fasting metabolic markers of selective hepatic insulin resistance in humans.European journal of endocrinology · 2024Article
- Mitochondrial complex I inhibition triggers NADGeroScience · 2024Article
- Advances in management of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: from mechanisms to therapeutics.Lipids in health and disease · 2024Review
- Lipidomics Profiling of Metformin-Induced Changes in Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Insights and Biomarker Potential.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Metformin Inefficiency to Lower Lipids in Vitamin B12 Deficient HepG2 Cells Is Alleviated via Adiponectin-AMPK Axis.Nutrients · 2023Article
- Combination of Pioglitazone and Metformin Actions on Liver Lipid Metabolism in Obese Mice.Biomolecules · 2023Article
- Liver insulinization as a driver of triglyceride dysmetabolism.Nature metabolism · 2023Review
- MLX plays a key role in lipid and glucose metabolism in humans: Evidence from in vitro and in vivo studies.Metabolism: clinical and experimental · 2023Article
- Role of the AMPK/SIRT1 pathway in non‑alcoholic fatty liver disease (Review).Molecular medicine reports · 2023Review
- Metabolite profiles of diabetes mellitus and response to intervention in anti-hyperglycemic drugs.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023Review
- Combining Dietary Intervention with Metformin Treatment Enhances Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis Remission in Mice Fed a High-Fat High-Sucrose Diet.Biomolecules · 2022Article
- X-box binding protein 1: A new metabolic mediator and drug target of metformin?Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveMetformin is a first-line pharmacotherapy in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, a condition closely associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Although metformin promotes weight loss and improves insulin sensitivity, its effect on intrahepatic triglyceride (IHTG) remains unclear. We investigated the effect of metformin on IHTG, hepatic de novo lipogenesis (DNL), and fatty acid (FA) oxidation in vivo in humans. DESIGN AND
methodsMetabolic investigations, using stable-isotope tracers, were performed in ten insulin-resistant, overweight/obese human participants with NAFLD who were treatment naïve before and after 12 weeks of metformin treatment. The effect of metformin on markers of s.c. adipose tissue FA metabolism and function, along with the plasma metabolome, was investigated.
resultsTwelve weeks of treatment with metformin resulted in a significant reduction in body weight and improved insulin sensitivity, but IHTG content and FA oxidation remained unchanged. Metformin treatment was associated with a significant decrease in VLDL-triglyceride (TG) concentrations and a significant increase in the relative contribution of DNL-derived FAs to VLDL-TG. There were subtle and relatively few changes in s.c. adipose tissue FA metabolism and the plasma metabolome with metformin treatment.
conclusionsWe demonstrate the mechanisms of action of metformin whereby it improves insulin sensitivity and promotes weight loss, without improvement in IHTG; these observations are partly explained through increased hepatic DNL and a lack of change in FA oxidation.
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