Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37867353›Full record

ArticleRomanian journal of morphology and embryology = Revue roumaine de morphologie et embryologie

Cytotoxic effects of Phenformin on ovarian cancer cells: expression of HIF-1α and PDK1 in the hypoxic microenvironment.

Burcu Gunaydin, Gurkan Yigitturk, Hulya Elbe

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Romanian journal of morphology and embryology = Revue roumaine de morphologie et embryologie. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 18% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. EMSY enhances glycolysis in ovarian cancer cells.European journal of medical research · 2025
    Article
  2. Review
  3. High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) with fallopian tube involvement.Romanian journal of morphology and embryology = Revue roumaine de morphologie et embryologie
    Article
  4. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Burcu GunaydinDepartment of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Muğla, Türkiye; hulya.elbe@mu.edu.tr.
Gurkan Yigitturk
Hulya Elbe
Muğla University · TR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Today, many anticancer drugs are used clinically for ovarian cancer, one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in women. Phenformin is an antidiabetic drug of the biguanide class. It improves the antiproliferative activity in cancer cells. Hypoxia is an important component associated with ovarian cancer and its tumor microenvironment. The aim of this study was to investigate the anticancer effects of Phenformin in SKOV-3 human ovarian cancer cells under hypoxic conditions. SKOV-3 human ovarian cancer cells treated with different doses of Phenformin (0.5 mM, 1 mM, 2 mM, 5 mM) for 24 hours were subjected to WST-1 cell viability assay and Annexin V apoptosis assay. A dose-dependent decrease in cell viability with Phenformin treatment was observed. In addition, Phenformin activated percentage of apoptotic SKOV-3 cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. In this study, Cobalt(II) chloride (CoCl2) treatment leads to increased hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1α) expression and Phenformin can recover hypoxic condition. HIF-1α protein expression was significantly correlated with cell viability assay and apoptosis assay. We also found that Phenformin inhibits expression of phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1 (PDK1) in SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells. The ability to migrate to cancer cells was significantly reduced in a dose-dependent manner with Phenformin. This data demonstrates that Phenformin treatment can induce apoptosis and inhibit proliferation in ovarian cancer cells under hypoxic conditions. The findings reveal that HIF-1α is a new target for the treatment of ovarian cancer.

Indexed as

Antineoplastic AgentsOvarian NeoplasmsCell HypoxiaCell Line, TumorCell ProliferationFemaleHumansHypoxiaHypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha SubunitPhenforminTumor MicroenvironmentAntineoplastic AgentsHypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha SubunitPhenformin

Identifiers

PMID37867353
PMCPMC10720940
OpenAlexW4387866001

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.