Aim: Although metformin treatment has been reported to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes, the underlying mechanisms have not been elucidated fully. Here we assessed atherosclerotic lesion formation in newly established 2 mouse lines with different blood glucose levels (Oikawa-Nagao Diabetes-Prone [ON-DP] and -Resistant [ON-DR]) to evaluate the effect of metformin on early-stage atherosclerosis.
Methods: Mildly hyperglycemic ON-DP and normoglycemic ON-DR female mice fed an atherogenic diet for 20 weeks (8-28 weeks of age). During the feeding period, one group of each mouse line received metformin in drinking water (0.1%), while another group received water alone as control. Atherosclerotic lesion formation in the aortic sinus was quantitively analyzed from the oil red O-stained area of the serial sections.
Results: Metformin treatment did not affect food intake, body weight, and casual blood glucose levels within each mouse line during the 20-week feeding period. Nevertheless, metformin treatment significantly reduced atherosclerotic lesion formation in the ON-DP mice (59% of control), whereas no significant effect of metformin was observed in the lesion size of the ON-DR mice.
Conclusion: Metformin can attenuate early-stage atherogenesis in mildly hyperglycemic ON-DP mice. Pleiotropic effects of metformin, beyond its glucose-lowering action, may contribute to the antiatherogenic property in the early-stage atherosclerosis.
Keywords: Atherosclerosis; Diabetes; Impaired glucose tolerance; Metformin; Oikawa-Nagao mouse.