ReviewCurrent osteoporosis reports2023
The Differential Effect of Metformin on Osteocytes, Osteoblasts, and Osteoclasts.
Review in Current osteoporosis reports, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of metformin on bone turnover markers: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials.Archives of osteoporosis · 2026Pooled it
- Predictors of Fracture in Middle-Aged and Older Adults With Type 2 Diabetes and Overweight or Obesity.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2025Trial
- Reprogramming bone homeostasis: The recoupling-oriented framework of bidirectional regulation strategies for osteoporosis.iScience · 2026Review
- A Letter Matters: ADRB2 rs1042713 c.46A Modulates Anti-osteogenic Effect of Epinephrine in Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells.Stem cell reviews and reports · 2026Article
- Repurposing Metformin to Promote Fracture Callus Maturation via AMPK-Driven Metabolic Activation.Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society · 2026Article
- Metformin as a Metabolic Reprogramming Interface in Host-Pathogen and Bone Microenvironment Crosstalk: A Dual-Target Strategy Against Antimicrobial Resistance and Osteoporotic Bone Loss.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Metformin as an Adjunct in Periodontal Therapy: Mechanistic Insights, Research Evidence and Current Challenges.Therapeutic innovation & regulatory science · 2026Review
- Underlying Mechanisms of Osteoporosis in the Context of Multimorbidity: Clinical Challenges and Management Strategies.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Metformin carbon dots-based osteogenic and protein delivery system to promote bone regeneration in periodontitis.Bioactive materials · 2025Article
- From Diabetes to Degenerative Diseases: The Multifaceted Action of Metformin.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Review
- The Role of Antidiabetic Drugs in Bone Health: Assessing the Risk of Osteoporosis Subtypes and Fractures Using Mendelian Randomization.Orthopedic research and reviews · 2025Article
- Metformin and bone metabolism: unraveling their direct and indirect effects.Therapeutic advances in endocrinology and metabolism · 2025Review
- A Randomized Controlled Trial on the Effect of Luseogliflozin on Bone Microarchitecture Evaluated Using HR-pQCT in Elderly Type 2 Diabetes.Diabetes therapy : research, treatment and education of diabetes and related disorders · 2024Article
- Metformin enhances the therapeutic effects of extracellular vesicles derived from human periodontal ligament stem cells on periodontitis.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Bone Loss in Diabetes Mellitus: Diaporosis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purpose of reviewMetformin is an anti-glycemic agent, which is widely prescribed to diabetes patients. Although its alleged role on bone strength has been reported for some time, this review focuses primarily on the recent mechanistical insights of metformin on osteocytes, osteoblasts, and osteoclasts. RECENT
findingsOverall, metformin contributed to steering anabolic activity in osteocytes. It caused lower expression in osteocytes of the negative regulators of bone formation sclerostin and DKK1. Likewise, the osteoclastogenesis function of osteoblasts was also skewed towards lower RANKL and higher OPG expressions. Osteoblast lineage cells generally responded to metformin by activating bone formation parameters, such as alkaline phosphatase activity, higher expression of anabolic members of the Wnt pathway, transcription factor Runx2, bone matrix protein proteins, and subsequent mineralization. Metformin affected osteoclast formation and activity in a negative way, reducing the number of multinucleated cells in association with lower expression of typical osteoclast markers and with inhibited resorption. A common denominator studied in all three cell types is its beneficial effect on activating phosphorylated AMP kinase (AMPK) which is associated with the coordination of energy metabolism. Metformin differentially affects bone cells, shifting the balance to more bone formation. Although metformin is a drug prescribed for diabetic patients, the overall bone anabolic effects on osteocytes and osteoblasts and the anti-catabolic effect on osteoclast suggest that metformin could be seen as a promising drug in the bone field.
Indexed as
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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.