ReviewNature reviews. Endocrinology2023
Metformin: update on mechanisms of action and repurposing potential.
Review in Nature reviews. Endocrinology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07760883 (Effect of Metformin in Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes According to SLC16A11 Risk Variant Carrier Status), which is not on this map. Cited by 406 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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.
Effect of Metformin in Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes According to SLC16A11 Risk Variant Carrier Status
Who cites it
406 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Exploring multifaceted roles of metformin in therapeutic applications, mechanistic insights, and innovations in drug delivery systems across biological contexts: a systematic review.Drug delivery and translational research · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of Premeal Versus Postmeal Metformin Administration on Postmeal Glycemic Control in Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Randomized, 8-Week Crossover Study.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Trial
- Metabolic profiling of healthy vs. syndrome-associated obesity and effects of six-month metformin therapy.Acta diabetologica · 2026 · on this mapTrial
- Ovulatory Recovery following weight loss in women with polycystic ovary syndrome and obesity: a post hoc analysis of the BAMBINI randomised controlled trial.Human reproduction (Oxford, England) · 2026Trial
- Multiparameter MRI assessment of metformin and exercise effects on skeletal muscle in prediabetes: a randomized controlled trial.European radiology experimental · 2025Trial
- Body Composition Differentiates Prediabetes Phenotype Clusters in the Diabetes Prevention Program Study.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2025Trial
- Safety and tolerability of metformin in overweight and obese patients with dengue: An open-label clinical trial (MeDO).PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Prostaglandin E2-mediated aging microenvironment fuels pathogenic fibrosis in cesarean section scar defect.EMBO molecular medicine · 2026Article
- Phytochemical and Molecular Insights Into the Anti-PCOS Potential of Anchusa Strigosa: Targeting Hormones, Biochemical Markers, and WNT Genes.Applied biochemistry and biotechnology · 2026Article
- Crosslinked ionizable lipids reprogram dendritic cell metabolism for potent mRNA vaccination.Nature materials · 2026Article
- Multi-Omics Analysis Identifies Gut-Associated Metabolic Signatures Associated with Metformin-Mediated Protection Against LPS-Induced Lung Injury.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Exercise-induced protein lactylation: From molecular mechanisms to precision health applications.iScience · 2026Review
- Article
- Article
- Review
- Fumarate hydratase deficiency triggers disulfidptosis under glucose deprivation.Nature communications · 2026Article
- 5-Fluorouracil-based chemotherapy disrupts autophagy flux and protein synthesis in cultured myotubes: a role for mTORC1 signaling.American journal of physiology. Cell physiology · 2026Article
- Metformin Inhibits Ferroptotic Cell Death by Suppressing Cysteine Deprivation-Induced Mitochondrial Dysfunction.Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2026Article
- Effectiveness and Safety of Fixed-Dose Combination Metformin and Empagliflozin in Type 2 Diabetes: A Prospective, Multicenter, Real-World Study From China.Journal of diabetes · 2026Observational
346 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
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Currently, metformin is the first-line medication to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in most guidelines and is used daily by >200 million patients. Surprisingly, the mechanisms underlying its therapeutic action are complex and are still not fully understood. Early evidence highlighted the liver as the major organ involved in the effect of metformin on reducing blood levels of glucose. However, increasing evidence points towards other sites of action that might also have an important role, including the gastrointestinal tract, the gut microbial communities and the tissue-resident immune cells. At the molecular level, it seems that the mechanisms of action vary depending on the dose of metformin used and duration of treatment. Initial studies have shown that metformin targets hepatic mitochondria; however, the identification of a novel target at low concentrations of metformin at the lysosome surface might reveal a new mechanism of action. Based on the efficacy and safety records in T2DM, attention has been given to the repurposing of metformin as part of adjunct therapy for the treatment of cancer, age-related diseases, inflammatory diseases and COVID-19. In this Review, we highlight the latest advances in our understanding of the mechanisms of action of metformin and discuss potential emerging novel therapeutic uses.
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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.