Metformin exhibits antineoplastic effects on Pten-deficient endometrial cancer by interfering with TGF-β and p38/ERK MAPK signalling - 11/11/23
Abstract |
Metformin is a widespread antidiabetic agent that is commonly used as a treatment against type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. Regarding its therapeutic potential, multiple studies have concluded that Metformin exhibits antineoplastic activity on several types of cancer, including endometrial carcinoma. Although Metformin’s antineoplastic activity is well documented, its cellular and molecular anticancer mechanisms are still a matter of controversy because a plethora of anticancer mechanisms have been proposed for different cancer cell types. In this study, we addressed the cellular and molecular mechanisms of Metformin’s antineoplastic activity by using both in vitro and in vivo studies of Pten-loss driven carcinoma mouse models. In vivo, Metformin reduced endometrial neoplasia initiated by Pten-deficiency. Our in vitro studies using Pten-deficient endometrial organoids focused on both cellular and molecular levels in Metformin’s tumor suppressive action. At cellular level, we showed that Metformin is involved in not only the proliferation of endometrial epithelial cells but also their regulation via a variety of mechanisms of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) as well as TGF-β-induced apoptosis. At the molecular level, Metformin was shown to affect the TGF-β signalling., a widely known signal that plays a pivotal role in endometrial carcinogenesis. In this respect, Metformin restored TGF-β-induced apoptosis of Pten-deficient endometrial organoids through a p38-dependent mechanism and inhibited TGF-β-induced EMT on no-polarized endometrial epithelial cells by inhibiting ERK/MAPK signalling. These results provide new insights into the link between the cellular and molecular mechanism for Metformin’s antineoplastic activity in Pten-deficient endometrial cancers.
Le texte complet de cet article est disponible en PDF.Graphical Abstract |
Highlights |
• | Metformin exhibits anti-neoplastic activity on endometrial cancers initiated by Pten loss. |
• | Metformin affects proliferation, apoptosis and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition of Pten-deficient endometrial cells. |
• | Metformin interferes with p38 signalling to regulate TGF-β-induced apoptosis. |
• | Metformin interferes with ERK signalling to regulate epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. |
Keywords : Metformin, Endometrial cancer, Pten, Mouse model of cancer, Drug repurposing
Plan
Vol 168
Article 115817- décembre 2023 Retour au numéroBienvenue sur EM-consulte, la référence des professionnels de santé.
L’accès au texte intégral de cet article nécessite un abonnement.
Déjà abonné à cette revue ?