Metformin is a first-line medication for type II diabetes. Numerous studies have shown that metformin not only has hypoglycemic effects, but also modulates many physiological and pathological processes ranging from aging and cancer to fracture healing. During these different physiological activities and pathological changes, stem cells usually play a core role. Thus, many studies have investigated the effects of metformin on stem cells. Metformin affects cell differentiation and has promising applications in stem cell medicine. It exerts anti-aging effects and can be applied to gerontology and regenerative medicine. The potential anti-cancer stem cell effect of metformin indicates that it can be an adjuvant therapy for cancers. Furthermore, metformin has beneficial effects against many other diseases including cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases. In this review, we summarize the effects of metformin on stem cells and provide an overview of its molecular mechanisms and clinical prospects.

中文翻译：

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二甲双胍对干细胞的影响：分子机制和临床前景。

二甲双胍是II型糖尿病的一线药物。大量研究表明，二甲双胍不仅具有降血糖作用，而且还调节从衰老，癌症到骨折愈合的许多生理和病理过程。在这些不同的生理活动和病理变化过程中，干细胞通常发挥核心作用。因此，许多研究已经调查了二甲双胍对干细胞的作用。二甲双胍影响细胞分化，并在干细胞医学中具有广阔的应用前景。它具有抗衰老作用，可用于老年病学和再生医学。二甲双胍潜在的抗癌干细胞作用表明它可以作为癌症的辅助疗法。此外，二甲双胍对许多其他疾病（包括心血管疾病和自身免疫性疾病）具有有益作用。在这篇综述中，我们总结了二甲双胍对干细胞的作用，并概述了其分子机制和临床前景。