AUTHOR=Deng Mingying , Su Dan , Xu Suowen , Little Peter J. , Feng Xiaojun , Tang Liqin , Shen Aizong 

TITLE=Metformin and Vascular Diseases: A Focused Review on Smooth Muscle Cell Function

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pharmacology

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2020

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2020.00635

DOI=10.3389/fphar.2020.00635

ISSN=1663-9812

ABSTRACT=Metformin has been used in diabetes for more than 60 years and has excellent safety in the therapy of human type 2 diabetes (T2D). There is growing evidence that the beneficial health effects of metformin are beyond its ability to improve blood sugar. Metformin not only reduces the incidence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in T2D patients, but also reduces the burden of atherosclerosis (AS) in non-diabetic patients at risk for the disease. Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) function is an important factor in determining the characteristics of the entire arterial vessel. Its excessive proliferation contributes to the etiology of several types of CVD, including AS, restenosis, and pulmonary hypertension. Current studies show that metformin has a beneficial effect on VSMCs function. Therefore, this review provides a timely overview of the role and molecular mechanisms by which metformin acts through VSMCs to protect CVD.