Metformin attenuates motility, contraction, and fibrogenic response of hepatic stellate cells in vivo and in vitro by activating AMP-activated protein kinase

Figure 3 Effect of metformin on hepatic stellate cell migration and invasion. Scratch tests were used to determine cell migration, and Transwell assays were used to evaluate cell invasion. A: HSCs were scraped and then incubated with or without PDGF-BB (10 ng/mL) and metformin (1, 2, 5, and 10 mmol/L). Images were acquired at 0 and 24 h (100 × magnification); B: HSCs were seeded in the upper chamber with a Matrigel membrane, and various concentrations of metformin (0, 1, 5, and 10 mmol/L) were added to the medium. The lower chambers were loaded with DMEM with or without 10% FBS. Cells that migrated through the membrane were fixed and stained with hematoxylin at 24 h; C: The migration ability was quantified by measuring the distance of the scratch edge; D: Cells that migrated through the membrane were counted and quantified. (^bP < 0.01 vs the control group, ^cP < 0.05 and ^dP < 0.01 vs the PDGF-BB or FBS only groups). HSCs: Hepatic stellate cells.