About: Buformin is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 148 publications have been published within this topic receiving 3750 citations. The topic is also known as: DBV & 1-Butylbiguanide.
TL;DR: Sixty years after its introduction in diabetes treatment, metformin has become the most prescribed glucose-lowering medicine worldwide with the potential for further therapeutic applications.
Abstract: Metformin (dimethylbiguanide) has become the preferred first-line oral blood glucose-lowering agent to manage type 2 diabetes. Its history is linked to Galega officinalis (also known as goat's rue), a traditional herbal medicine in Europe, found to be rich in guanidine, which, in 1918, was shown to lower blood glucose. Guanidine derivatives, including metformin, were synthesised and some (not metformin) were used to treat diabetes in the 1920s and 1930s but were discontinued due to toxicity and the increased availability of insulin. Metformin was rediscovered in the search for antimalarial agents in the 1940s and, during clinical tests, proved useful to treat influenza when it sometimes lowered blood glucose. This property was pursued by the French physician Jean Sterne, who first reported the use of metformin to treat diabetes in 1957. However, metformin received limited attention as it was less potent than other glucose-lowering biguanides (phenformin and buformin), which were generally discontinued in the late 1970s due to high risk of lactic acidosis. Metformin's future was precarious, its reputation tarnished by association with other biguanides despite evident differences. The ability of metformin to counter insulin resistance and address adult-onset hyperglycaemia without weight gain or increased risk of hypoglycaemia gradually gathered credence in Europe, and after intensive scrutiny metformin was introduced into the USA in 1995. Long-term cardiovascular benefits of metformin were identified by the UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) in 1998, providing a new rationale to adopt metformin as initial therapy to manage hyperglycaemia in type 2 diabetes. Sixty years after its introduction in diabetes treatment, metformin has become the most prescribed glucose-lowering medicine worldwide with the potential for further therapeutic applications.
TL;DR: It is reported that biguanides inhibit complex I by inhibiting ubiquinone reduction (but not competitively) and, independently, stimulate reactive oxygen species production by the complex I flavin and are identified as a new class of complex I and ATP synthase inhibitor.
Abstract: The biguanide metformin is widely prescribed for Type II diabetes and has anti-neoplastic activity in laboratory models. Despite evidence that inhibition of mitochondrial respiratory complex I by metformin is the primary cause of its cell-lineage-specific actions and therapeutic effects, the molecular interaction(s) between metformin and complex I remain uncharacterized. In the present paper, we describe the effects of five pharmacologically relevant biguanides on oxidative phosphorylation in mammalian mitochondria. We report that biguanides inhibit complex I by inhibiting ubiquinone reduction (but not competitively) and, independently, stimulate reactive oxygen species production by the complex I flavin. Biguanides also inhibit mitochondrial ATP synthase, and two of them inhibit only ATP hydrolysis, not synthesis. Thus we identify biguanides as a new class of complex I and ATP synthase inhibitor. By comparing biguanide effects on isolated complex I and cultured cells, we distinguish three anti-diabetic and potentially anti-neoplastic biguanides (metformin, buformin and phenformin) from two anti-malarial biguanides (cycloguanil and proguanil): the former are accumulated into mammalian mitochondria and affect oxidative phosphorylation, whereas the latter are excluded so act only on the parasite. Our mechanistic and pharmacokinetic insights are relevant to understanding and developing the role of biguanides in new and existing therapeutic applications, including cancer, diabetes and malaria.
TL;DR: It is suggested that Oct1 is responsible for the hepatic uptake as well as playing a role in the intestinal uptake of metformin, whereas the renal distribution and excretion are mainly governed by other transport mechanism(s).
Abstract: Metformin, a biguanide, is widely used as an oral hypoglycemic agent for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of organic cation transporter 1 (Oct1) in the disposition of metformin. Transfection of rat Oct1 cDNA results in the time-dependent and saturable uptake of metformin by the Chinese hamster ovary cell line with K(m) and V(max) values of 377 microM and 1386 pmol/min/mg of protein, respectively. Buformin and phenformin, two other biguanides, were also transported by rOct1 with a higher affinity than metformin: their K(m) values were 49 and 16 microM, respectively. To investigate the role of Oct1 in the disposition of metformin, the tissue distribution of metformin was determined in Oct1 gene-knockout mice after i.v. administration. Distribution of metformin to the liver in Oct1(-/-) mice was more than 30 times lower than that in Oct1(+/+) mice, and can be accounted for by the extracellular space. Distribution to the small intestine was also decreased in Oct1(-/-) mice, whereas that to the kidney as well as the urinary excretion profile showed only minimal differences. In conclusion, the present findings suggest that Oct1 is responsible for the hepatic uptake as well as playing a role in the intestinal uptake of metformin, whereas the renal distribution and excretion are mainly governed by other transport mechanism(s).
TL;DR: A clear correlation was observed among the three biguanides, suggesting that oxygen consumption in isolated rat hepatocytes can be used as an index of the incidence of lactic acidosis.
Abstract: Biguanides are a class of drugs widely used as oral antihyperglycemic agents for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus, but they are associated with lactic acidosis, a lethal side effect. We reported previously that biguanides are good substrates of rat organic cation transporter 1 (Oct1; Slc22a1) and, using Oct1(-/-) mice, that mouse Oct1 is responsible for the hepatic uptake of a biguanide, metformin. In the present study, we investigated whether the liver is the key organ for the lactic acidosis. When mice were given metformin, the blood lactate concentration significantly increased in the wild-type mice, whereas only a slight increase was observed in Oct1(-/-) mice. The plasma concentration of metformin exhibited similar time profiles between the wild-type and Oct1(-/-) mice, suggesting that the liver is the key organ responsible for the lactic acidosis. Furthermore, the extent of the increase in blood lactate caused by three different biguanides (metformin, buformin, and phenformin) was compared with the abilities to reduce oxygen consumption in isolated rat hepatocytes. When rats were given each of these biguanides, the lactate concentration increased significantly. This effect was dose-dependent, and the EC(50) values of metformin, buformin, and phenformin were 734, 119, and 4.97 microM, respectively. All of these biguanides reduced the oxygen consumption by isolated rat hepatocytes in a concentration-dependent manner. When the concentration required to reduce the oxygen consumption to 75% of the control value (from 0.40 to 0.29 micromol/min/mg protein) was compared with the EC(50) value obtained in vivo, a clear correlation was observed among the three biguanides, suggesting that oxygen consumption in isolated rat hepatocytes can be used as an index of the incidence of lactic acidosis.
TL;DR: Lactic acidosis can complicate biguanide therapy in diabetic patients with renal insufficiency and Physicians who have completed their training after 1976 may not be familiar with metformin and other biguanides, but with the increasing numbers of immigrants to the United States, physicians should be aware of the potential complications.
Abstract: Purpose.— The biguanides are a class of oral hypoglycemic agents that are commonly used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Such agents include metformin, phenformin, and buformin. The use of phenformin was discontinued in the United States in 1976 because of probable association with lactic acidosis. However, metformin is currently in common use in many parts of the world. In this report, we describe a patient with severe lactic acidosis secondary to metformin administration, and review the literature relevant to biguanide-associated lactic acidosis. Patient.— We describe a diabetic man with end-stage renal failure and diabetes mellitus who was hospitalized with life-threatening lactic acidosis (lactate, 10.9 mmol/L). Unbeknownst to the hospital staff, he was being treated with metformin, which had been prescribed in Indonesia. Results.— Arterial blood gas analysis revealed a pH of 6.76 and a bicarbonate level of 1.6 mmol/L prior to treatment. Following therapy, which included oxygen, volume expansion, other supportive therapy, and hemodialysis, the patient completely recovered and was discharged from the hospital. Conclusions.— Lactic acidosis can complicate biguanide therapy in diabetic patients with renal insufficiency. We review the literature relevant to the pathogenesis and therapy of biguanide-associated lactic acidosis. Physicians who have completed their training after 1976 may not be familiar with metformin and other biguanides, but with the increasing numbers of immigrants to the United States, physicians should be aware of the potential complications of these medications. (Arch Intern Med. 1992;152:2333-2336)