Metformin is the most prescribed drug for treating diabetes mellitus, known as type 2 diabetes.
Metformin is the most prescribed drug for treating diabetes mellitus, known as type 2 diabetes. Metformin, the most prescribed drug for treating diabetes mellitus, known as type 2 diabetes, requires the presence of the growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) —a protein whose expression increases in response to cellular stress— to present its antidiabetic effects. This is stated in a study led by the research group of the Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Diseases Networking Biomedical Research Centre (CIBERDEM) of the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Sant Joan de Déu Research Institute (IRSJD), which included the participation of a team of the Alberto Sols Biomedical Research Institute (CSIC/UAM). The study, published in the journal Pharmacological Research , reveals a new mechanism through which the positive regulation of the GDF15 cytokine involved in the response to cellular stress, activates a metabolic sensor (AMPK) which is key in the energy balance. The study also shows that the action of GDF15 is independent of the activation of its receptors located in the central nervous system —the only ones known to date—, which suggests the existence of new actions of this cytokine mediated by the peripheral receptors to be determined. Type 2 diabetes is a complex metabolic disorder characterised mainly by an excessive amount of glucose in the blood due to the body's inability to properly respond to the insulin action —a process known as insulin resistance— or to produce this hormone.
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