Home › Research › Drug development
Metformin activates chaperone-mediated autophagy and improves disease pathologies in an Alzheimer disease mouse model
Xu X, Sun Y, Cen X, Shan B, Zhao Q, Xie T, Wang Z, Hou T et al.. Protein & cell, 2021-07-21
Topic: Disease mechanisms in lab and animal studies
Chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) is a lysosome-dependent selective degradation pathway implicated in the pathogenesis of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. However, the mechanisms that regulate CMA are not fully understood. Here, using unbiased drug screening approaches, we discover Metformin, a drug that is commonly the first medication prescribed for type 2 diabetes, can induce CMA. We delineate the mechanism of CMA induction by Metformin to be via activation of TAK1-IKKα/β signaling that leads to phosphorylation of Ser85 of the key mediator of CMA, Hsc70, and its activation. Notably, we find that amyloid-beta precursor protein (APP) is a CMA substrate and that it binds to Hsc70 in an IKKα/β-dependent manner. The inhibition of CMA-mediated degradation of APP enhances its cytotoxicity. Importantly, we find that in the APP/PS1 mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD), activation of CMA by Hsc70 overexpression or Metformin potently reduces the accumulated brain Aβ plaque levels and reverses the molecular and behavioral AD phenotypes. Our study elucidates a novel mechanism of CMA regulation via Metformin-TAK1-IKKα/β-Hsc70 signaling and suggests Metformin as a new activator of CMA for diseases, such as AD, where such therapeutic intervention could be beneficial.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Xu, X., Sun, Y., Cen, X., Shan, B., Zhao, Q., Xie, T., et al. (2021). Metformin activates chaperone-mediated autophagy and improves disease pathologies in an Alzheimer disease mouse model. Protein & cell. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13238-021-00858-3
Vancouver
Xu X, Sun Y, Cen X, Shan B, Zhao Q, Xie T, et al. Metformin activates chaperone-mediated autophagy and improves disease pathologies in an Alzheimer disease mouse model. Protein & cell. 2021. doi:10.1007/s13238-021-00858-3. PMID: 34291435.
BibTeX
@article{xu2021-34291435,
author = {Xu, X. and Sun, Y. and Cen, X. and Shan, B. and Zhao, Q. and Xie, T. and Wang, Z. and Hou, T. and others},
title = {{Metformin activates chaperone-mediated autophagy and improves disease pathologies in an Alzheimer disease mouse model}},
journal = {Protein \& cell},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1007/s13238-021-00858-3},
pmid = {34291435},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s13238-021-00858-3}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- We delineate the mechanism of CMA induction by Metformin to be via activation of TAK1-IKKα/β signaling that leads to phosphorylation of Ser85 of the key mediator of CMA, Hsc70, and its activation.
- Notably, we find that amyloid-beta precursor protein (APP) is a CMA substrate and that it binds to Hsc70 in an IKKα/β-dependent manner.
- The inhibition of CMA-mediated degradation of APP enhances its cytotoxicity.
- Importantly, we find that in the APP/PS1 mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD), activation of CMA by Hsc70 overexpression or Metformin potently reduces the accumulated brain Aβ plaque levels and reverses the molecular and behavioral AD phenotypes.
- Our study elucidates a novel mechanism of CMA regulation via Metformin-TAK1-IKKα/β-Hsc70 signaling and suggests Metformin as a new activator of CMA for diseases, such as AD, where such therapeutic intervention could be beneficial.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Treatments →
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 43/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 25 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 43 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Protein & cell) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2021 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Laboratory or animal study (title names “mouse”) — scores zero |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 34291435) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 25 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 25 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 43 out of 100. |
| Total | 43 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Free copy unknown: no free-copy check has an answer for this record yet. That does not mean it is paywalled.
Related studies in Drug development
Also tagged “proteostasis”
240 studies in the library carry the topic tag “proteostasis”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 240 tagged studies.