Metformin and female reproduction: Effects on physiological conditions

CANDELA VELAZQUEZ; HERRERO, YAMILA; MAYRA BORDAQUIEVICH; MELANIE NEIRA; MARIA SILVIA BIANCHI; DEBORAH COHEN; PATRICIA CUASNICU; KATHERINE PROST; ROCIO MARINONI; FERNANDA PARBORELL; DALHIA ABRAMOVICH

Congreso; Reunión anual de sociedades de biociencias; 2023

Metformin is the first-line treatment in type-2-diabetes patients (1). Currently, more than200 million people worldwide take this drug daily (2), with a solid long-term safetyprofile. Furthermore, metformin exerts pleiotropic effects, acting on several tissues andorgans through different mechanisms (3). However, the exact effects of metformin onthe female reproductive tract in general and on the ovary in particular, are still notcompletely clear.Angiogenesis is a tightly regulated process that needs the coordination between pro andantiangiogenic factors. In the adult, angiogenesis occurs only during specific processes,such as wound healing or in the female reproductive tract. Metformin can regulateangiogenesis in different tissues, besides its effects on glucose metabolism (4). The maindescribed effect of metformin is the inhibition of angiogenesis.Our hypothesis was that metformin has effects on the ovary, regulating angiogenesis,follicular development and hormone production