Metformin affects the features of a human hepatocellular cell line (HepG2) by regulating macrophage polarization in a co‐culture microenviroment

Abstract Objective Accumulating evidence suggests an association between diabetes and cancer. Inflammation is a key event that underlies the pathological processes of the two diseases. Metformin displays anti‐cancer effects, but the mechanism is not completely clear. This study investigated whether metformin regulated the microenvironment of macrophage polarization to affect the characteristics of HepG2 cells and the possible role of the Notch‐signalling pathway. Methods RAW264.7 macrophages were cultured alone or co‐cultured with HepG2 cells and treated with metformin. We analysed classical (M1) and alternative (M2) gene expression in RAW264.7 cells using quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction. Changes in mRNA and protein expressions of Notch signalling in both cell types were also detected using quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction and Western‐blotting analyses. The proliferation, apoptosis and migration of HepG2 cells were detected using Cell Titer 96 AQueous One Solution Cell Proliferation Assay (MTS) (Promega Corporation, Fitchburg, WI, USA), Annexin V‐FITC/PI (7SeaPharmTech, Shanghai, China) and the cell scratch assay, respectively. Results Metformin induced single‐cultured RAW264.7 macrophages with an M2 phenotype but attenuated the M2 macrophage differentiation and inhibited monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 (MCP‐1) secretion in a co‐culture system. The co‐cultured group of metformin pretreatment activated Notch signalling in macrophages but repressed it inHepG2 cells. Co‐culture also promoted the proliferation and migration of HepG2 cells. However, along with the enhanced apoptosis, the proliferation and the migration of HepG2 cells were remarkably inhibited in another co‐culture system with metformin pretreatment. Conclusions Metformin can skew RAW264.7 macrophages toward different phenotypes according to changes in the microenvironment, which may affect the inflammatory conditions mediated by macrophages, induce apoptosis and inhibit the proliferation and migration of HepG2 cells. Notch signalling pathway is a potentially important mechanism in the regulation of metformin on macrophage polarization and the subsequent change of hepatoma cells. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.