Abstract
Metformin, which is commonly used as an oral anti-hyperglycemic agent of the biguanide family, may reduce cancer risk and improve prognosis. However, the mechanism by which metformin affects various cancers, including lung cancer, remains unknown. MiR-222 induces cell growth and cell cycle progression via direct targeting of p27, p57 and PTEN in cancer cells. In the present study, we used A549 and NCI-H358 human lung cancer cell lines to study the effects and mechanisms of metformin. Metformin treatment reduced expression of miR-222 in these cells (p < 0.05). As a result, protein abundance of p27, p57 and PTEN were increased in cells exposed to metformin. Therefore, these data provide novel evidence for a mechanism that may contribute to the anti-neoplastic effects of metformin suggested by recent population studies and justifying further work to explore potential roles for it in lung cancer treatment.
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Yuqi Wang and Weimin Dai are the co-first authors and have contributed equally to this work.
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Wang, Y., Dai, W., Chu, X. et al. Metformin inhibits lung cancer cells proliferation through repressing microRNA-222. Biotechnol Lett 35, 2013–2019 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-013-1309-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-013-1309-0