ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences2020
Metformin Reduces Aging-Related Leaky Gut and Improves Cognitive Function by Beneficially Modulating Gut Microbiome/Goblet Cell/Mucin Axis.
Article in The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 102 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
102 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 140 citations in OpenAlex.
- Anti-diabetic agents and the risks of dementia in patients with type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of observational studies and randomized controlled trials.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2024Pooled it
- The effects of prebiotics on gastrointestinal side effects of metformin in youth: A pilot randomized control trial in youth-onset type 2 diabetes.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023Trial
- Gut Microbiota and Brain Aging: Identifying Keystone Biomarkers for Cognitive Health.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Maternal Metformin Exposure Induces Gut Microbial Shifts in Non-Diabetic Dams and Sex-Stratified Changes in Mouse Offspring.Biomolecules · 2026Article
- Metformin in Diabetes and Beyond: Therapeutic Mechanisms, Lactic Acidosis, Organ-Specific Effects, and Nanotechnology-Based Delivery Strategies.Current medical science · 2026Review
- The eternal struggle between titans: Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) versus metformin in type 2 diabetes (T2D) gut dysmotility.Journal of advanced research · 2026Review
- Rapamycin Prevents Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria-Induced Effects on Snail and GSK-3 and Impaired Intestinal Barrier.Microorganisms · 2026Article
- Mechanistic Links Between the Gut Microbiome and Longevity Therapeutics.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Intestinal aging-related immune dysfunction: mechanisms and interventions.Acta biochimica et biophysica Sinica · 2026Review
- The central role of IL-6 in the differential effects of GLP-1 receptor agonists and metformin across multiple health conditions.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- ACT001 alleviates MASLD through gut microbiota-bile acid-FXR axis in mice.Annals of medicine · 2025Article
- A Perspective on the Role of Metformin in Treating Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Long COVID.ACS pharmacology & translational science · 2025Review
- Microbiome-based therapeutics towards healthier aging and longevity.Genome medicine · 2025Review
- Trends in intestinal aging: From underlying mechanisms to therapeutic strategies.Acta pharmaceutica Sinica. B · 2025Review
- Age-Related Cognitive Decline and Dementia: Interface of Microbiome-Immune-Neuronal Interactions.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2025Review
- Adolescent social isolation decreases colonic goblet cells and impairs spatial cognition through the reduction of cystine.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Article
- Microbial dipeptidyl peptidases of the S9B family as host-microbe isozymes.Science advances · 2025Review
- Advances in molecular mechanisms and therapeutic strategies for central nervous system diseases based on gut microbiota imbalance.Journal of advanced research · 2025Review
- Metformin suppresses gammadelta T17 cell differentiation alleviating DSS-induced colitis.Immunologic research · 2025Article
- The Gut Microbiota-Related Antihyperglycemic Effect of Metformin.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
42 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Aging-related illnesses are increasing and effective strategies to prevent and/or treat them are lacking. This is because of a poor understanding of therapeutic targets. Low-grade inflammation is often higher in older adults and remains a key risk factor of aging-related morbidities and mortalities. Emerging evidence indicates that abnormal (dysbiotic) gut microbiome and dysfunctional gut permeability (leaky gut) are linked with increased inflammation in older adults. However, currently available drugs do not treat aging-related microbiome dysbiosis and leaky gut, and little is known about the cellular and molecular processes that can be targeted to reduce leaky gut in older adults. Here, we demonstrated that metformin, a safe Food and Drug Administration-approved antidiabetic drug, decreased leaky gut and inflammation in high-fat diet-fed older obese mice, by beneficially modulating the gut microbiota. In addition, metformin increased goblet cell mass and mucin production in the obese older gut, thereby decreasing leaky gut and inflammation. Mechanistically, metformin increased the goblet cell differentiation markers by suppressing Wnt signaling. Our results suggest that metformin can be used as a regimen to prevent and treat aging-related leaky gut and inflammation, especially in obese individuals and people with western-style high-fat dietary lifestyle, by beneficially modulating gut microbiome/goblet cell/mucin biology.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
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.