Metformin is widely used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus and has been shown to elicit both protective and harmful effects in male reproductive tissue. This research investigates associations between paternal metformin exposure and health risks in offspring to identify potential impacts.

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Human cohort studies describe conflicting associations between the paternal use of metformin and the risk of birth defects. Research at EMBL on IVF-embryos generated with sperm from control and metformin-exposed male mice found that metformin exposure caused an up-regulation of genes related to mitochondrial function.

This project will continue this work by focusing on if and how paternal exposure to metformin influences offspring development and alters the molecular composition of sperm and seminal fluid. The project will integrating both mouse models and human cell lines. Postnatal development will also be tracked to determine if any long-term intergenerational impacts occur under metformin exposure, complementing previous Human Ecosystems work identifying exposure impacts on reproductive fitness.

The project will be led by Joana Serrrano in the Boskovic Group.