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Updated: Aug 19, 2025

Measurement of Insulin- and Contraction-Stimulated Glucose Uptake in Isolated and Incubated Mature Skeletal Muscle from Mice
Published on: May 16, 2021
A positive feedback loop between AMPK and GDF15 promotes metformin antidiabetic effects
David Aguilar-Recarte1, Emma Barroso1, Meijian Zhang1
1Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences and Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Spanish Biomedical Research Center in Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Diseases (CIBERDEM)-Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Pediatric Research Institute-Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain.
Metformin enhances AMPK activation, crucial for type 2 diabetes treatment, by increasing growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) levels. This process occurs independently of the central nervous system, revealing a new therapeutic mechanism.
Area of Science:
- Metabolism and Endocrinology
- Molecular Biology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Metformin is a primary treatment for type 2 diabetes.
- Metformin's weight loss effects are linked to growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15).
- AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) mediates metformin's antidiabetic effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if metformin-induced AMPK activation depends on GDF15.
- To elucidate the role of GDF15 in metformin's metabolic effects.
Main Methods:
- Studies involved cultured hepatocytes, myotubes, and wild-type/Gdf15 knockout mice.
- Assessed AMPK activation and GDF15 levels in response to metformin.
- Investigated the role of GDF15 receptor GFRAL and Gdf15 knockdown.
Main Results:
- Metformin increased GDF15 and activated AMPK in wild-type mice, but not Gdf15 knockout mice.
- AMPK activation by metformin in cultured cells increased GDF15, independent of GFRAL.
- Gdf15 knockdown impaired metformin's effect on AMPK activation.
Conclusions:
- Metformin upregulates GDF15, which is essential for sustained AMPK activation.
- This mechanism of GDF15-mediated AMPK activation by metformin is independent of the central nervous system.
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