Multi-omics analysis of the lipid-regulating effects of metformin in a glucose concentration-dependent manner in macrophage-derived foam cells.

Abstract

Metformin has a long history of clinical application and has been shown to have outstanding ability in lowering glucose. Recent advances have further revealed its broad modulatory ability beyond glucose-lowering, expanding the scope of metformin applications. Metformin has now been applied as a viable lipid-lowering strategy in non-hyperglycemic obese patients. However, the benefits and underlying pharmacological mechanisms of metformin administration in non-hyperglycemic populations remain to be explained. Our study aimed to systematically investigate the differences in the lipid-lowering function and pharmacological mechanisms of metformin in high- and low-sugar conditions to facilitate the development of individualized metformin use regimens for different clinical patients. We constructed macrophage-derived foam cell models in vitro for subsequent analysis. ORO results showed that metformin significantly reduced lipid accumulation in macrophages in both high and low glucose environments, but the lipid decline was higher in the high glucose environment. By mutual validation and joint analysis of transcriptomics and metabolomics, significant differences in metformin transcriptional and metabolic patterns existed among high and normal glucose environments. The significant alterations of genes such as DGKA, LPL, DGAT2 and lipid metabolites such as LysPA and LysPC partially explained the glucose-dependent pharmacological function of metformin. In conclusion, our study confirmed that the lipid-lowering effect of metformin depends on the extracellular glucose concentration, and systematically studied the molecular mechanism of metformin in different glycemic environments, which provides a certain reference value for the subsequent in-depth study and clinical application.