Deep Proteomics of Breast Cancer Cells Reveals that Metformin Rewires Signaling Networks Away from a Pro-growth State

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

  • Francesca Sacco
  • Alessandra Silvestri
  • Daniela Posca
  • Stefano Pirrò
  • Pier Federico Gherardini
  • Luisa Castagnoli
  • Mann, Matthias
  • Gianni Cesareni

Metformin is the most frequently prescribed drug for type 2 diabetes. In addition to its hypoglycemic effects, metformin also lowers cancer incidence. This anti-cancer activity is incompletely understood. Here, we profiled the metformin-dependent changes in the proteome and phosphoproteome of breast cancer cells using high-resolution mass spectrometry. In total, we quantified changes of 7,875 proteins and 15,813 phosphosites after metformin changes. To interpret these datasets, we developed a generally applicable strategy that overlays metformin-dependent changes in the proteome and phosphoproteome onto a literature-derived network. This approach suggested that metformin treatment makes cancer cells more sensitive to apoptotic stimuli and less sensitive to pro-growth stimuli. These hypotheses were tested in vivo; as a proof-of-principle, we demonstrated that metformin inhibits the p70S6K-rpS6 axis in a PP2A-phosphatase dependent manner. In conclusion, analysis of deep proteomics reveals both detailed and global mechanisms that contribute to the anti-cancer activity of metformin.

Original languageEnglish
JournalCell Systems
Volume2
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)159-71
Number of pages13
ISSN2405-4712
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 23 Mar 2016
Externally publishedYes

    Research areas

  • Journal Article

ID: 186876945