Oral Metformin Ameliorates Bleomycin-Induced Skin Fibrosis Francesco Ursini, Rosa Daniela Grembiale, Lucia D’Antona, Enzo Gallo, Salvatore D’Angelo, Rita Citraro, Paolo Visca, Ignazio Olivieri, Giovambattista De Sarro, Nicola Perrotti, Emilio Russo  Journal of Investigative Dermatology  Volume 136, Issue 9, Pages 1892-1894 (September 2016) DOI: 10.1016/j.jid.2016.05.097 Copyright © 2016 The Authors Terms and Conditions

Figure 1 Effect of metformin on dermal thickness in bleomycin-induced scleroderma. Representative skin sections (a) and mean ± SD (b) of dermal thickness in bleomycin-induced scleroderma C3H mice with or without oral metformin. Group A, treated with subcutaneous 0.9% NaCl only (negative control); group B, treated with subcutaneous bleomycin plus tap water (positive control); group C, treated with subcutaneous bleomycin plus metformin dissolved in drinking water at 250 mg/kg/day; group D, treated with subcutaneous bleomycin for 21 days followed by tap water (negative control); group E, treated with subcutaneous bleomycin for 21 days followed by metformin dissolved in drinking water at 250 mg/kg/day. Scale bar = 30 μm. Journal of Investigative Dermatology 2016 136, 1892-1894DOI: (10.1016/j.jid.2016.05.097) Copyright © 2016 The Authors Terms and Conditions

Figure 2 Effect of metformin on collagen content and myofibroblast accumulation in bleomycin-induced scleroderma. Representative Masson’s trichrome stained skin sections (a) and mean ± SD of % blue stained area (b); relative collagen content (c) and number of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) + myofibroblasts (d) in bleomycin-induced scleroderma C3H mice with or without oral metformin. Group A, treated with subcutaneous 0.9% NaCl only (negative control); group B, treated with subcutaneous bleomycin plus tap water (positive control); group C, treated with subcutaneous bleomycin plus metformin dissolved in drinking water at 250 mg/kg/day; group D, treated with subcutaneous bleomycin for 21 days followed by tap water (negative control); group E, treated with subcutaneous bleomycin for 21 days followed by metformin dissolved in drinking water at 250 mg/kg/day. Scale bar = 30 μm. Journal of Investigative Dermatology 2016 136, 1892-1894DOI: (10.1016/j.jid.2016.05.097) Copyright © 2016 The Authors Terms and Conditions