The Effect of Metformin Against High Let Ionizing And Non-Ionizing Irradiation (A Review)

Introduction: Metformin is the most commonly used drug for type ۲ diabetes and exhibits anti-neoplastic actions on many cancers. Also, many studies have shown its sensitization and protection effects against ionizing radiation. However, there is little evidence on the impact of metformin against non-ionizing and high LET ionizing radiation. Thus, this review aims to gather evidence on the effect of metformin against different radiation qualities such as non-ionizing and high LET ionizing radiation.Methods: Various databases like Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched over a period of ۲۲ years from ۲۰۰۰ to ۲۰۲۲. All the studies indicating the effect of metformin against high LET ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, including Ultraviolet (UV) radiation and radiofrequency (RF) waves were included in this review. Exclusion criteria were studies out of the ۲۲ years, unavailable and irrelevant studies of the subject.Results: After excluding studies from the total searched articles, ۸ studies from ۲۰۱۱ to ۲۰۲۲ met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed for this study. The results of these studies indicate that metformin has potential protective effects on skin aging against RF and all types of UV radiation (type A, B, and C) through inhibiting reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and reducing apoptosis. Moreover, High LET radiation such as Carbon-ion beams and neutron radiation combined with metformin treatment has led to enhanced radiosensitivity of Hepatocellular carcinoma cells rather than low LET radiation by inducing cell cycle arrest.Conclusion: Metformin has favorable protective effects on skin photo-aging against non-ionizing radiation such as UV and RF radiation, while it could be a potential radiosensitizer with high LET radiation in cancer cells which could be due to the context-dependent action of metformin. Future studies are essential to improve our understanding of how metformin’s action will change with different radiation qualities.

کلیدواژه ها:

Metformin ، High LET radiation ، Non-ionizing radiation