Effect of metformin on insulin-resistant endothelial cell function

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of metformin on the function of insulin-resistant (IR) endothelial cells. A model of IR endothelial cells was established by incubating cells with 30 mM glucose, 1 μM dexamethasone and various concentrations of insulin. The nitric oxide (NO) content of the endothelial cells was determined by measuring the rate of nitroreductase production; the endothelin (ET) concentration was examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; and the expression levels of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) were detected using western blotting. The optimal conditions for inducing insulin resistance in endothelial cells were a combination treatment of 10-4 mmol/l insulin, 30 mM glucose and 1 μM dexamethasone for 48 h. Notably, metformin administration significantly increased the NO content and reduced the ET-1 concentration in the IR cells compared with the non-treated control cells (P<0.05); furthermore, metformin significantly increased the intracellular eNOS protein expression in IR endothelial cells compared with the non-treated control cells (P<0.05), with an optimal metformin concentration of 10-3 mmol/l. Thus, the present study identified that metformin improves the function of IR endothelial cells, possibly through promoting eNOS protein expression and increasing the NO content.