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Methyl succinate antagonises biguanide‐induced AMPK‐activation and death of pancreatic <i>β</i>‐cells through restoration of mitochondrial electron transfer

2007· article· en· 77 citations· W1786380341 on OpenAlex· 10.1038/sj.bjp.0707189

Why is this work in the frame?

A frame that forgets how it found something cannot be audited. These are the routes that admitted this work.

Canadian funderA Canadian agency funded it. The work may carry no Canadian affiliation at all.

No Canadian affiliation. An affiliation-only frame — the usual design — would never have seen this work. It is one of the works that make the case for inverting the frame.

The three-model screen

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All three models called this out of scope.

stratum: fund_new · design weight: 1678.90 (the sample is stratified; any rate computed without the weight is wrong)
Claude Opus 4.8OUT
genre: empirical
about Canada: no
confidence: high

Pharmacology experiment on biguanide-induced AMPK activation in beta-cells; the object is cell metabolism.

GPT-5.6 (high)OUT
genre: empirical
about Canada: no
confidence: high

The study investigates metformin effects on pancreatic beta cells.

Grok 4.5OUT
genre: empirical
about Canada: no
confidence: high

Biomedical pharmacology of biguanides on pancreatic beta cells.

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Two mechanisms have been proposed to explain the insulin-sensitising properties of metformin in peripheral tissues: (a) inhibition of electron transport chain complex I, and (b) activation of the AMP activated protein kinase (AMPK). However the relationship between these mechanisms and their contribution to beta-cell death and dysfunction in vitro, are currently unclear. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: The effects of biguanides (metformin and phenformin) were tested on MIN6 beta-cells and primary FACS-purified rat beta-cells. Cell metabolism was assessed biochemically and by FACS analysis, and correlated with AMPK phosphorylation state and cell viability, with or without fuel substrates. KEY RESULTS: In MIN6 cells, metformin reduced mitochondrial complex I activity by up to 44% and a 25% net reduction in mitochondrial reducing potential. In rat beta-cells, metformin caused NAD(P)H accumulation above maximal glucose-inducible levels, mimicking the effect of rotenone. Drug exposure caused phosphorylation of AMPK on Thr(172) in MIN6 cell extracts, indicative of kinase activation. Methyl succinate, a complex II substrate, appeared to bypass metformin blockade of complex I. This resulted in reduced phosphorylation of AMPK, establishing a link between biguanide-induced mitochondrial inhibition and AMPK activation. Corresponding assessment of cell death indicated that methyl succinate decreased biguanide toxicity to beta-cells in vitro. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: AMPK activation can partly be attributed to metformin's inhibitory action on mitochondrial complex I. Anaplerotic fuel metabolism via complex II rescued beta-cells from metformin-associated toxicity. We propose that utilisation of anaplerotic nutrients may reconcile in vitro and in vivo effects of metformin on the pancreatic beta-cell.

Stored with the screening record, where it is evidence for the labels above.

The record

Venue
British Journal of Pharmacology
Topic
Metabolism, Diabetes, and Cancer
Field
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Canadian institutions
Funders
Canadian Institutes of Health ResearchVlaamse regeringFonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
Keywords
AMPKBiguanideMetforminPhenforminAMP-activated protein kinaseMitochondrionProtein kinase ACell biologyBeta cellChemistryBiologyPhosphorylationPharmacologyBiochemistryEndocrinologyInsulinIslet
Has abstract in OpenAlex
yes