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Metformin trims fats to restore insulin sensitivity

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Despite metformin being one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for the treatment of diabetes, how it elicits its therapeutic effects has remained mysterious. A new study in mice shows that inhibitory phosphorylation of acetyl-coA carboxylases Acc1 and Acc2 by the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is essential for the ability of metformin to improve insulin sensitivity and lower blood glucose in obesity (pages 1649–1654).

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Figure 1: Metformin uses AMPK suppression of ACC to lower lipid accumulation and restores insulin sensitivity.

Katie Vicari

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Reuben J. Shaw is at the Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California, USA.,

    Reuben J Shaw

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  1. Reuben J Shaw
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Correspondence to Reuben J Shaw.

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Shaw, R. Metformin trims fats to restore insulin sensitivity. Nat Med 19, 1570–1572 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.3414

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