Metformin's effect on male rats experiencing CMF-induced neurotoxicity

Numerous cancers are treated with the chemotherapy drugs cyclophosphamide (CP), methotrexate (MT), and fluorouracil (FU). However, it should be noted that neurotoxicity is a possible side effect of chemotherapy. The pharmaceutical agent metformin (MTF) is used to control type 2 diabetes. The administration of MTF has been documented to exhibit a reduction in specific toxic effects associated with chemotherapy. The primary purpose of this research was to examine whether MTF could mitigate the neurotoxicity brought on by cranial magnetic field (CMF).

A cohort of forty male rats was divided into four distinct groups, with ten animals in each. We classified them as either saline, MTF, CMF, or CMF+MTF. The rats in the experiment group received two doses of CMF via intraperitoneal injection and were also given MTF in their drinking water at a concentration of 2.5 mg/mL on a daily basis. Brain tissue was obtained for ELISA of Bax, Bcl-2, and caspase-3 expression, as well as to determine NMDA and AMPA receptor mRNA expression by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis.

Expression of AMPAR, NMDAR, Bax, Bcl-2, and caspase-3 was not notably different between the saline and MTF groups. In contrast, mRNA expression for AMPAR, NMDAR, Bax, and caspase-3 was notably upregulated in the CMF group, while Bcl-2 was downregulated. The co-administration of MTF and CMF did not mitigate these side effects.

neurotoxicity was induced in rats by CMF treatment, but the elevation of the glutamatergic system and the elevation of apoptotic proteins were not prevented by the MTF co-treatment.