Metformin, a widely used anti-diabetic drug all over the world, is the first-line drug of choice to manage Type 2 diabetes especially in obese and overweight people and even those with normal kidney function. Metformin primarily controls blood glucose levels by inhibiting the glucose production by the liver. Recently, metformin has been shown to slow the aging process and increase the life span.
The scientists found that metformin effectively inhibited the angiotensin-II- induced atherosclerotic disease process when administered to Apolipoprotein (Apo) E knockout mice. Atherosclerosis is a vascular disease in which plaque (made up of calcium, cholesterol and fat) builds-up inside the arteries and thereby hampers the oxygen-rich blood flow to different organs of the body and it may cause serious problems including heart attack and stroke.
It was found that metformin greatly inhibited the monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation and the associated inflammatory processes during monocyte differentiation via affecting STAT3 phosporylation.
Enhanced monocyte/macrophage infiltration is considered to be one of the major factors responsible for exacerbating the progression of atherosclerosis by causing the release of inflammatory cytokines and proliferation of smooth muscle cells. All these result in the narrowing of arteries, ultimately leading to the decreased blood flow.
Metformin treatment significantly decreased the macrophage levels around the sub-endothelial space in the aorta of mice. Also, metformin administration resulted in the inhibition of plaque formation and aortic aneurysms (localized balloon-like bulge in the wall of the artery) in mice.
The beneficial effects of metformin were further extended by the observations showing that it has significantly elevated the HDL levels and decreasing the LDL and triglyceride levels. It is likely that the anti-atherosclerotic effects of metformin are in part mediated by perturbing monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation during angiotensin-II-mediated atherosclerosis. The results of this study were recently published in the journal 'Diabetes', a prestigious journal of the American Diabetes Association.
"From these observations, it appears that metformin may have protective effects in regressing cardiovascular abnormalities not only in diabetic people, but also in non-diabetic people suffering from vascular disorders. In this context, clinicians may have to take closer look on these beneficial effects of metformin and see whether such a correlation exists in patients who are on metformin prescription," the study said.
The lead authors of this study are Dr. Srigiridhar Kotamraju, Senior Scientist, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, and his team involving Sathish Vasamsetti, Santosh Karnewar and Koteswararao Kanugula and Dr. Jarald Mahesh Kumar and Avinash Raj from CCMB.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Type 2 diabetes,Metformin,life span,CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology,CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology
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