Metformin restores autophagic flux and mitochondrial function in late passage myoblast to impede age-related muscle loss

Abstract

Sarcopenia, which refers to age-related muscle loss, presents a significant challenge for the aging population. Age-related changes that contribute to sarcopenia include cellular senescence, decreased muscle stem cell number and regenerative capacity, impaired autophagy, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Metformin, an anti-diabetic agent, activates AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and affects various cellular processes in addition to reducing hepatic gluconeogenesis, lowering blood glucose levels, and improving insulin resistance. However, its effect on skeletal muscle cells remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of metformin on age-related muscle loss using a late passage C2C12 cell model. The results demonstrated that metformin alleviated hallmarks of cellular senescence, including SA-β-gal activity and p21 overexpression. Moreover, treatment with pharmacological concentrations of metformin restored the reduced differentiation capacity in late passage cells, evident through increased myotube formation ability and enhanced expression of myogenic differentiation markers such as MyoD, MyoG, and MHC. These effects of metformin were attributed to enhanced autophagic activity, normalization of mitochondrial membrane potential, and improved mitochondrial respiratory capacity. These results suggest that pharmacological concentrations of metformin alleviate the hallmarks of cellular senescence, restore differentiation capacity, and improve autophagic flux and mitochondrial function. These findings support the potential use of metformin for the treatment of sarcopenia.