metformin   Click here for help

GtoPdb Ligand ID: 4779

Synonyms: Glucophage® | LA-6023
Approved drug PDB Ligand Immunopharmacology Ligand
metformin is an approved drug (FDA (1995))
Compound class: Synthetic organic
Comment: Marketed formulations contain metformin hydrochloride (PubChem CID 14219). Metformin is often given in fixed-dose combinations with other antihyperglycemic agents.

Repurposing: Cancer cells undergo a metabolic switch to aerobic glycolysis, and become reliant on this metabolic pathway for energy (the Warburg effect). Inhibition of the glycolytic pathway is therefore considered as a tractable therapeutic target in oncology. As metformin is an inhibitor of glycolysis it is being examined for anti-cancer effects in a number of malignancies. Similarly, it is being examined for anti-inflammatory potential since activated immune cells also undergo a metabolic switch to aerobic glycolysis. If found to be effective, this could ultimately lead to metformin being repurposed for indications other than type 2 diabetes.
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View more information in the IUPHAR Pharmacology Education Project: metformin

2D Structure
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2D Structure

An image of the ligand's 2D structure. For small molecules with SMILES these are drawn using the NCI/CADD Chemical Identifier Resolver. Click on the image to access the chemical structure search tool with the ligand pre-loaded in the structure editor. For other types of ligands, e.g. longer nucleotides and peptides, a manually drawn representation of the molecule may be provided.

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Physico-chemical Properties
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Physico-chemical Properties

Calculated molecular properties are available for small molecules and natural products (not peptides). Properties were generated using the CDK toolkit. All properties were selected to enable the prediction of the Lipinski Rule-of-Five profile or ‘druglikeness’ for each ligand. For more info on each category see the help pages.

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Hydrogen bond acceptors 5
Hydrogen bond donors 3
Rotatable bonds 2
Topological polar surface area 91.49
Molecular weight 129.1
XLogP -0.54
No. Lipinski's rules broken 0
SMILES / InChI / InChIKey
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SMILES / InChI / InChIKey

SMILES (Simplified Molecular Input Line Entry Specification) A specification for unambiguously describing the structure of chemical molecules using short ASCII strings. Canonical SMILES specify a unique representation of the 2D structure without chiral or isotopic specifications. Isomeric SMILES include chiral specification and isotopes.

Standard InChI (IUPAC International Chemical Identifier) and InChIKey InChI is a non-proprietary, standard, textual identifier for chemical substances designed to facilitate linking of information and database searching. An InChIKey is a simplified version of a full InChI, designed for easier web searching.

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Canonical SMILES CN(C(=N)N=C(N)N)C
Isomeric SMILES CN(C(=N)N=C(N)N)C
InChI InChI=1S/C4H11N5/c1-9(2)4(7)8-3(5)6/h1-2H3,(H5,5,6,7,8)
InChI Key XZWYZXLIPXDOLR-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Immunopharmacology Comments
When immune cells become activated they undergo a metabolic switch to aerobic glycolysis, and become reliant on this metabolic pathway for energy. Inhibition of the glycolytic pathway is therefore considered as therapeutic target in autoimmunity. As metformin is an inhibitor of glycolysis it is being examined for anti-inflammatory effects in immune mediated diseases. If found to be effective, this could ultimately lead to metformin being repurposed for inflammatory indications [2,4].
Immunopharmacology Disease
Disease X-Refs Comment References
Systemic lupus erythematosus Disease Ontology: DOID:9074
OMIM: 152700
Orphanet: ORPHA536
 Metformin is being evaluated as an adjunct to conventional immunosuppressants in patients with SLE, to determine if it reduces disease flares- see Phase 4 clinical trial NCT02741960 4
Psoriasis Disease Ontology: DOID:8893
 Clinical trial NCT02644954 was designed to test for efficacy of adjunct metformin in patients with moderate chronic plaque psoriasis, however it is unclear if this trial was ever initiated.
Psoriatic arthritis Disease Ontology: DOID:9008
 Clinical trial NCT02188654 that was designed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant efficacy of metformin in patients with PsA has been completed. No results have been published.