Evidence mapPaperPMID 30321069Full record

ArticleFASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology2019

Metformin increases glucose uptake and acts renoprotectively by reducing SHIP2 activity.

Zydrune Polianskyte-Prause, Tuomas A Tolvanen, Sonja Lindfors, Vincent Dumont, Mervi Van, Hong Wang, Surjya N Dash, Mika Berg, Jette-Britt Naams, Laura C Hautala and 6 more

Open access · hybridFull text read
In one paragraph

Article in FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
54citing papers in PubMed
3.0field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

54 citing papers in PubMed, 96 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Small Molecule Insulin Sensitisers: New Leads and Targets for Next-Generation Insulin Sensitising Strategies.Medicinal chemistry research : an international journal for rapid communications on design and mechanisms of action of biologically active agents · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. The direct targets of metformin in diabetes and beyond.Trends in endocrinology and metabolism: TEM · 2025
    Review
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Review
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Zydrune Polianskyte-PrauseDepartment of Pathology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Tuomas A TolvanenDepartment of Pathology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Sonja LindforsDepartment of Pathology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Vincent DumontDepartment of Pathology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Mervi VanDepartment of Pathology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Hong WangDepartment of Pathology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Surjya N DashDepartment of Pathology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Mika BergDepartment of Chemistry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Jette-Britt NaamsDepartment of Pathology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Laura C HautalaDepartment of Pathology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Harry NisenDepartment of Urology, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
Tuomas MirttiDepartment of Pathology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Per-Henrik GroopFolkhälsan Research Center, Folkhälsan Institute of Genetics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Kristiina WähäläDepartment of Chemistry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Jukka TienariDepartment of Pathology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Sanna LehtonenDepartment of Pathology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
University of Helsinki · FIHelsinki University Hospital · FIMonash University · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Metformin, the first-line drug to treat type 2 diabetes (T2D), inhibits mitochondrial glycerolphosphate dehydrogenase in the liver to suppress gluconeogenesis. However, the direct target and the underlying mechanisms by which metformin increases glucose uptake in peripheral tissues remain uncharacterized. Lipid phosphatase Src homology 2 domain-containing inositol-5-phosphatase 2 (SHIP2) is upregulated in diabetic rodent models and suppresses insulin signaling by reducing Akt activation, leading to insulin resistance and diminished glucose uptake. Here, we demonstrate that metformin directly binds to and reduces the catalytic activity of the recombinant SHIP2 phosphatase domain in vitro. Metformin inhibits SHIP2 in cultured cells and in skeletal muscle and kidney of db/db mice. In SHIP2-overexpressing myotubes, metformin ameliorates reduced glucose uptake by slowing down glucose transporter 4 endocytosis. SHIP2 overexpression reduces Akt activity and enhances podocyte apoptosis, and both are restored to normal levels by metformin. SHIP2 activity is elevated in glomeruli of patients with T2D receiving nonmetformin medication, but not in patients receiving metformin, compared with people without diabetes. Furthermore, podocyte loss in kidneys of metformin-treated T2D patients is reduced compared with patients receiving nonmetformin medication. Our data unravel a novel molecular mechanism by which metformin enhances glucose uptake and acts renoprotectively by reducing SHIP2 activity.-Polianskyte-Prause, Z., Tolvanen, T. A., Lindfors, S., Dumont, V., Van, M., Wang, H., Dash, S. N., Berg, M., Naams, J.-B., Hautala, L. C., Nisen, H., Mirtti, T., Groop, P.-H., Wähälä, K., Tienari, J., Lehtonen, S. Metformin increases glucose uptake and acts renoprotectively by reducing SHIP2 activity.

Indexed as

AnimalsCells, CulturedDiabetes Mellitus, ExperimentalDiabetes Mellitus, Type 2Gene Expression Regulation, EnzymologicHumansHypoglycemic AgentsKidney DiseasesMaleMetforminMiceMice, Inbred C57BLMuscle Fibers, SkeletalPhosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-Trisphosphate 5-PhosphatasesPodocytesRatsHypoglycemic AgentsINPPL1 protein, humanInppl1 protein, mouseMetforminPhosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-Trisphosphate 5-Phosphatasesdiabetic kidney diseaseinsulin resistancelipid phosphatasepodocytetype 2 diabetes

Identifiers

PMID30321069
PMCPMC6338644
OpenAlexW2897316664

What Socratic holds

Textfull text, public
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.