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

Figure 6 Effect of metformin on AMPK, Akt/mTOR, and ERK signaling in hepatic stellate cells. A and B: HSCs were pretreated with metformin (1, 2, 5 and 10 mmol/L) for 2 h and then incubated with PDGF-BB (10 ng/mL) for 24 h or CoCl₂ (150 μmol/L) for 12 h. AMPK, Akt/mTOR, and ERK signaling pathways were assessed by Western blot analysis; C and D: The results were quantified. ^aP < 0.05 vs the control group, ^cP < 0.05 and ^dP < 0.01 vs the PDGF-BB or CoCl₂ only groups. HSCs: Hepatic stellate cells.