ArticleInvestigative ophthalmology & visual science2023
Oral Metformin Inhibits Choroidal Neovascularization by Modulating the Gut-Retina Axis.
Article in Investigative ophthalmology & visual science, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Risk factors for age-related macular degeneration: an umbrella analysis of systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Short-Chain Fatty Acids and the Gut-Retina Connection: A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Pooled it
- A novel link between enhanced chenodeoxycholic acid synthesis and multi-walled carbon nanotubes-induced proliferation inhibition and apoptosis in human ocular cells.Journal of advanced research · 2026Article
- Integrative Network Pharmacology Analysis of Gut Microbial Metabolite-Mediated Gut-Eye Axis Regulation in Major Blinding Retinal Diseases.Ophthalmology science · 2026Article
- A Potential Gut-Retina Axis in Retinopathy of Prematurity: Emerging Perspectives on Microbiome-Mediated Modulation of the IGF-1-VEGF Pathway.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Accelerated biological aging is associated with the negative relationship between dietary intake of live microbes and diabetic retinopathy in US diabetic patients.BMC endocrine disorders · 2026Article
- Long-Term Metformin Use and Reduced Risk of Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Large Database Study.Ophthalmology. Retina · 2026Article
- The gut-eye axis in age-related macular degeneration: from microbial dysbiosis to targeted intervention strategies.Experimental biology and medicine (Maywood, N.J.) · 2026Review
- The gut-eye axis in blinding eye diseases: microbiota-driven immune dysregulation and immunomodulatory therapies.International ophthalmology · 2025Review
- Metformin and the Development of Age-Related Macular Degeneration.JAMA ophthalmology · 2025Article
- Sex differences on laser-induced choroidal neovascularization and short-chain fatty acid treatment in a mouse model.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2025Article
- The Gut Microbial System Responds to Retinal Injury and Modulates the Outcomes by Regulating Innate Immune Activation.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2025Article
- Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Cellular and Molecular Signaling Mechanisms.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Exploring the Protective Effects of Traditional Antidiabetic Medications and Novel Antihyperglycemic Agents in Diabetic Rodent Models.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Immune cell contribution to vascular complications in diabetes.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Review
- Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 attenuates diabetic retinopathy through gut microbiota modulation: evidence for the gut-retinal axis.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025Article
- Metformin inhibits pathological retinal neovascularization but promotes retinal fibrosis in experimental neovascular age-related macular degeneration.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Intravitreal Metformin Protects Against Choroidal Neovascularization and Light-Induced Retinal Degeneration.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Revolutionary drug repositioning: the preventive and therapeutic potential of metformin and other antidiabetic drugs in age-related macular degeneration.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Article
- The Effect of Metformin on Radiation-Induced Lung Fibrosis in Mice.Dose-response : a publication of International Hormesis SocietyArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
16 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Purpose: Emerging data indicate that metformin may prevent the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Whereas the underlying mechanisms of metformin's anti-aging properties remain undetermined, one proposed avenue is the gut microbiome. Using the laser-induced choroidal neovascularization (CNV) model, we investigate the effects of oral metformin on CNV, retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)/choroid transcriptome, and gut microbiota. Methods: Specific pathogen free (SPF) male mice were treated via daily oral gavage of metformin 300 mg/kg or vehicle. Male mice were selected to minimize sex-specific differences to laser induction and response to metformin. Laser-induced CNV size and macrophage/microglial infiltration were assessed by isolectin and Iba1 immunostaining. High-throughput RNA-seq of the RPE/choroid was performed using Illumina. Fecal pellets were analyzed for gut microbiota composition/pathways with 16S rRNA sequencing/shotgun metagenomics, as well as microbial-derived metabolites, including small-chain fatty acids and bile acids. Investigation was repeated in metformin-treated germ-free (GF) mice and antibiotic-treated/GF mice receiving fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from metformin-treated SPF mice. Results: Metformin treatment reduced CNV size (P < 0.01) and decreased Iba1+ macrophage/microglial infiltration (P < 0.005). One hundred forty-five differentially expressed genes were identified in the metformin-treated group (P < 0.05) with a downregulation in pro-angiogenic genes Tie1, Pgf, and Gata2. Furthermore, metformin altered the gut microbiome in favor of Bifidobacterium and Akkermansia, with a significant increase in fecal levels of butyrate, succinate, and cholic acid. Metformin did not suppress CNV in GF mice but colonization of microbiome-depleted mice with metformin-derived FMT suppressed CNV. Conclusions: These data suggest that oral metformin suppresses CNV, the hallmark lesion of advanced neovascular AMD, via gut microbiome modulation.
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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.