Metformin ameliorates peripheral neuropathy in diabetic rats by downregulating autophagy via the AMPK pathway

Abstract

Abstract Aims Diabetic neuropathy (DN) represents an important complication of diabetes mellitus. Autophagy is considered to be potentially involved in the regulation of DN. Metformin is broadly utilized in the first-line treatment of diabetes. The present work aimed to assess whether and how metformin exerts protective effects in DN. Methods A diabetic neuropathy rat model induced by STZ was established. Metformin was administered to examine its effect on sciatic nerve pathology, and the possible mechanism was explored. Results Morphological damage was observed in sciatic nerve samples from diabetic animals, accompanied by decreased p-AMPK expression and increased LC-3 levels. Notably, metformin ameliorated the morphological changes in the sciatic nerve by downregulating autophagy via p-AMPK upregulation. Conclusions These results indicate that metformin attenuates peripheral neuropathy in diabetic rats by regulating autophagy.