RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Metformin impairs trophoblast metabolism and differentiation in dose dependent manner
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2023.02.14.528531
DO 10.1101/2023.02.14.528531
A1 Sereen K. Nashif
A1 Renee M. Mahr
A1 Snehalata Jena
A1 Seokwon Jo
A1 Alisa B. Nelson
A1 Danielle Sadowski
A1 Peter A. Crawford
A1 Patrycja Puchalska
A1 Emilyn U. Alejandro
A1 Micah D. Gearhart
A1 Sarah A. Wernimont
YR 2023
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2023/02/18/2023.02.14.528531.abstract
AB Metformin is a widely prescribed medication whose mechanism of action is not completely defined and whose role in gestational diabetes management remains controversial. In addition to increasing risks of fetal growth abnormalities and preeclampsia, gestational diabetes is associated with abnormalities in placental development including impairments in trophoblast differentiation. Given that metformin impacts cellular differentiation events in other systems, we assessed metformin’s impact on trophoblast metabolism and differentiation. Using established cell culture models of trophoblast differentiation, oxygen consumption rates and relative metabolite abundance were determined following 200 μM (therapeutic range) and 2000 μM (supra-therapeutic range) metformin treatment using Seahorse and mass-spectrometry approaches. While no differences in oxygen consumption rates or relative metabolite abundance were detected between vehicle and 200 μM metformin treated cells, 2000 μM metformin impaired oxidative metabolism and increased abundance of lactate and TCA cycle intermediates, α-ketoglutarate, succinate, and malate. Examining differentiation, treatment with 2000 μM, but not 200 μM metformin, impaired HCG production and expression of multiple trophoblast differentiation markers. Overall, this work suggests that supra-therapeutic concentrations of metformin impairs trophoblast metabolism and differentiation whereas metformin concentrations in the therapeutic range do not strongly impact these processes.Competing Interest StatementP.A.C. has served as an external consultant for Pfizer, Inc., Abbott Laboratories, Janssen Research & Development, and Juvenesence. The remaining authors do not have any competing interests.