Tao Xu1, Stefan Brandmaier1, Ana C Messias2, Christian Herder3, Harmen H M Draisma4, Ayse Demirkan5, Zhonghao Yu1, Janina S Ried6, Toomas Haller7, Margit Heier8, Monica Campillos9, Gisela Fobo9, Renee Stark10, Christina Holzapfel11, Jonathan Adam1, Shen Chi1, Markus Rotter1, Tommaso Panni8, Anne S Quante12, Ying He13, Cornelia Prehn14, Werner Roemisch-Margl9, Gabi Kastenmüller9, Gonneke Willemsen15, René Pool15, Katarina Kasa16, Ko Willems van Dijk17, Thomas Hankemeier18, Christa Meisinger8, Barbara Thorand8, Andreas Ruepp9, Martin Hrabé de Angelis19, Yixue Li13, H-Erich Wichmann20, Bernd Stratmann21, Konstantin Strauch12, Andres Metspalu7, Christian Gieger1, Karsten Suhre22, Jerzy Adamski23, Thomas Illig24, Wolfgang Rathmann25, Michael Roden26, Annette Peters27, Cornelia M van Duijn28, Dorret I Boomsma15, Thomas Meitinger29, Rui Wang-Sattler30. 1. Research Unit of Molecular Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany. 2. Institute of Structural Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany. 3. Institute for Clinical Diabetology, German Diabetes Center, Leibniz Center for Diabetes Research at Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany German Center for Diabetes Research, Düsseldorf, Germany. 4. Department of Biological Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Education, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, Amsterdam, the Netherlands Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. 5. Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands. 6. Institute of Genetic Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany. 7. Estonian Genome Center, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia. 8. Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany. 9. Institute of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany. 10. Institute of Health Economics and Health Care Management, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany. 11. Else Kroener-Fresenius-Center for Nutritional Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany. 12. Institute of Genetic Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany Institute of Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, Chair of Genetic Epidemiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany. 13. Shanghai Center for Bioinformation Technology, Shanghai, China Bioinformatics Center, Key Laboratory of Systems Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China. 14. Institute of Experimental Genetics, Genome Analysis Center, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany. 15. Department of Biological Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Education, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. 16. Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. 17. Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands. 18. Faculty of Science, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Analytical BioSciences, the Netherlands. 19. Institute of Experimental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany Chair of Experimental Genetics, Center of Life and Food Sciences Weihenstephan, Technische Universität München, Freising, Germany German Center for Diabetes Research, Neuherberg, Germany. 20. Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany Institute of Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, Chair of Genetic Epidemiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany Institute of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany. 21. Heart and Diabetes Center NRW, Diabetes Center, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bad Oeynhausen, Germany. 22. Institute of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany Faculty of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Education City, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar. 23. Institute of Experimental Genetics, Genome Analysis Center, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany Chair of Experimental Genetics, Center of Life and Food Sciences Weihenstephan, Technische Universität München, Freising, Germany German Center for Diabetes Research, Neuherberg, Germany. 24. Research Unit of Molecular Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Education City, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar Hannover Unified Biobank, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany. 25. Institute for Biometrics and Epidemiology, German Diabetes Center, Leibniz Center for Diabetes Research at Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany. 26. Institute for Clinical Diabetology, German Diabetes Center, Leibniz Center for Diabetes Research at Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany German Center for Diabetes Research, Düsseldorf, Germany Department of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Medical Faculty, Düsseldorf, Germany. 27. Research Unit of Molecular Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany German Center for Diabetes Research, Neuherberg, Germany Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA. 28. Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands Center for Medical Systems Biology, Leiden, the Netherlands. 29. Institute of Human Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany Institute of Human Genetics, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany. 30. Research Unit of Molecular Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany German Center for Diabetes Research, Neuherberg, Germany rui.wang-sattler@helmholtz-muenchen.de.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Metformin is used as a first-line oral treatment for type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. Here, we aimed to comprehensively investigate the pleiotropic effects of metformin. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We analyzed both metabolomic and genomic data of the population-based KORA cohort. To evaluate the effect of metformin treatment on metabolite concentrations, we quantified 131 metabolites in fasting serum samples and used multivariable linear regression models in three independent cross-sectional studies (n = 151 patients with T2D treated with metformin [mt-T2D]). Additionally, we used linear mixed-effect models to study the longitudinal KORA samples (n = 912) and performed mediation analyses to investigate the effects of metformin intake on blood lipid profiles. We combined genotyping data with the identified metformin-associated metabolites in KORA individuals (n = 1,809) and explored the underlying pathways. RESULTS: We found significantly lower (P < 5.0E-06) concentrations of three metabolites (acyl-alkyl phosphatidylcholines [PCs]) when comparing mt-T2D with four control groups who were not using glucose-lowering oral medication. These findings were controlled for conventional risk factors of T2D and replicated in two independent studies. Furthermore, we observed that the levels of these metabolites decreased significantly in patients after they started metformin treatment during 7 years' follow-up. The reduction of these metabolites was also associated with a lowered blood level of LDL cholesterol (LDL-C). Variations of these three metabolites were significantly associated with 17 genes (including FADS1 and FADS2) and controlled by AMPK, a metformin target. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that metformin intake activates AMPK and consequently suppresses FADS, which leads to reduced levels of the three acyl-alkyl PCs and LDL-C. Our findings suggest potential beneficial effects of metformin in the prevention of cardiovascular disease.
OBJECTIVE:Metformin is used as a first-line oral treatment for type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. Here, we aimed to comprehensively investigate the pleiotropic effects of metformin. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We analyzed both metabolomic and genomic data of the population-based KORA cohort. To evaluate the effect of metformin treatment on metabolite concentrations, we quantified 131 metabolites in fasting serum samples and used multivariable linear regression models in three independent cross-sectional studies (n = 151 patients with T2D treated with metformin [mt-T2D]). Additionally, we used linear mixed-effect models to study the longitudinal KORA samples (n = 912) and performed mediation analyses to investigate the effects of metformin intake on blood lipid profiles. We combined genotyping data with the identified metformin-associated metabolites in KORA individuals (n = 1,809) and explored the underlying pathways. RESULTS: We found significantly lower (P < 5.0E-06) concentrations of three metabolites (acyl-alkyl phosphatidylcholines [PCs]) when comparing mt-T2D with four control groups who were not using glucose-lowering oral medication. These findings were controlled for conventional risk factors of T2D and replicated in two independent studies. Furthermore, we observed that the levels of these metabolites decreased significantly in patients after they started metformin treatment during 7 years' follow-up. The reduction of these metabolites was also associated with a lowered blood level of LDL cholesterol (LDL-C). Variations of these three metabolites were significantly associated with 17 genes (including FADS1 and FADS2) and controlled by AMPK, a metformin target. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that metformin intake activates AMPK and consequently suppresses FADS, which leads to reduced levels of the three acyl-alkyl PCs and LDL-C. Our findings suggest potential beneficial effects of metformin in the prevention of cardiovascular disease.
Authors: Jun Liu; Lies Lahousse; Michel G Nivard; Mariska Bot; Lianmin Chen; Jan Bert van Klinken; Carisha S Thesing; Marian Beekman; Erik Ben van den Akker; Roderick C Slieker; Eveline Waterham; Carla J H van der Kallen; Irene de Boer; Ruifang Li-Gao; Dina Vojinovic; Najaf Amin; Djawad Radjabzadeh; Robert Kraaij; Louise J M Alferink; Sarwa Darwish Murad; André G Uitterlinden; Gonneke Willemsen; Rene Pool; Yuri Milaneschi; Diana van Heemst; H Eka D Suchiman; Femke Rutters; Petra J M Elders; Joline W J Beulens; Amber A W A van der Heijden; Marleen M J van Greevenbroek; Ilja C W Arts; Gerrit L J Onderwater; Arn M J M van den Maagdenberg; Dennis O Mook-Kanamori; Thomas Hankemeier; Gisela M Terwindt; Coen D A Stehouwer; Johanna M Geleijnse; Leen M 't Hart; P Eline Slagboom; Ko Willems van Dijk; Alexandra Zhernakova; Jingyuan Fu; Brenda W J H Penninx; Dorret I Boomsma; Ayşe Demirkan; Bruno H C Stricker; Cornelia M van Duijn Journal: Nat Med Date: 2020-01-13 Impact factor: 53.440