Metformin from mother to unborn child – Are there unwarranted effects? Nguyen, Linh et al. EBioMedicine, Volume 35, 394 - 404
Abstract:
For more than 40 years, metformin has been used before and during pregnancy. However, it is important to note that metformin can cross the placenta and circulate in the developing foetus. Recent studies reported that the concentration of metformin in foetal cord blood ranges from half to nearly the same concentration as in the maternal plasma. Since metformin has anti-cell growth and pro-apoptotic effects, there are persistent concerns over the use of metformin in early pregnancy. Current human studies are limited by sample size, lack of controls or, short follow-up durations. In this review, we examine the settings in which metformin can be passed on from mother to child during pregnancy and address the current controversies relating to the cellular and molecular mechanisms of metformin. Our efforts highlight the need for more data on the effects of metformin on general offspring health as well as further scrutiny into foetal development upon exposure to metformin.
License type:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Funding Info:
We thank Stephanie Ler and members of the Teo laboratory for the critical reading of this manuscript. L.N. is supported by the Singapore International Graduate Award (SINGA), A*STAR. A.K.K.T. is supported by the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), A*STAR, NHG-KTPH SIG/14033, the NUHS-CG Metabolic In-Vitro Core Seed Funding, the JCO Career Development Award (CDA) 15302FG148, A*STAR, the NMRC Open Fund-Young Individual Research Grant (OF-YIRG) (OFYIRG16may014), A*STAR ETPL Gap Funding (ETPL/18-GAP005-R20H) and the Lee Foundation Grant (SHTX/LFG/002/2018). S.-Y.C. and her work is supported by grants administered by the Singapore National Research Foundation and Singapore Ministry of Health's National Medical Research Council (NMRC) - Clinician Scientist Award (NMRC/CSA-INV/0010/2016), Translational and Clinical Research (TCR) Flagship Programme (NMRC/TCR/004-NUS/2008; NMRC/TCR/
012-NUHS/2014), the National University of Singapore, Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences and A*STAR. S.-Y.C. also declare grants and non-financial support from industry funding received by the Epigen Academic Consortium, outside the submitted work. Sponsors had no involvement in the conduct of the research and/or preparation of the article