Background & aims: The biguanide drug metformin has recently been found to improve steatosis and liver damage in animal models and in humans with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.
Methods: The aim of the present study was to determine whether metformin also prevents steatosis and liver damage in mouse models of acute and chronic alcohol exposure.
Results: Acute ethanol exposure caused a >20-fold increase in hepatic lipids, peaking 12 hours after administration. Metformin treatment significantly blunted the ethanol effect by >60%. Although metformin is a known inducer of AMP kinase (AMPK) activity, the hepatoprotective property of metformin did not correlate with activation of AMPK or of AMPK-dependent pathways. Instead, the protective effects of metformin correlated with complete prevention of the upregulation of plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 caused by ethanol. Indeed, a similar protective effect against acute alcohol-induced lipid accumulation was observed in PAI-1-/- mice. Hepatic fat accumulation caused by chronic enteral ethanol feeding was also prevented by metformin or by knocking out PAI-1. Under these conditions, necroinflammatory changes caused by ethanol were also significantly attenuated.
Conclusions: Taken together, these findings suggest a novel mechanism of action for metformin and identify a new role of PAI-1 in hepatic injury caused by ethanol.