Authors: Aysun Özdemir, Mustafa Ark

Journal: Turkish Journal of Biology (2021)

Institution: Gazi University

Research Areas: Drug research

Cell Lines: HeLa and MCF-7 (HeLa – cervical cancer cell line; MCF-7 breast cancer cell line)

Summary: Drug discovery and approval is a lengthy process. Thus in recent years, already approved drugs are tested against nontarget treatments. In this study, A. Özdemir with colleagues have tested two small molecules, metformin and tolbutamide, as Rho kinase (ROCK) inhibitors. Authors have shown that metformin has a potential as a ROCK inhibitor and could be used in treatments of various pathological conditions in which ROCK plays a role. HoloMonitor M4 was used to study cell morphology (cell area, thickness, volume, and irregularity) post-treatment with various concentrations of tolbutamide and metformin.

Keywords: HoloMonitor M4, cell morphology, connectivity MAP, Rho kinase, metformin, off-target effect, oral antidiabetics