Metformin is found in the majority of lakes and streams in the United States, leading to widespread environmental exposure. Results of the present study indicate that extended duration metformin exposure at critical developmental periods leads to decreased survival rates in zebrafish (danio rerio), an NIH approved human model. Significant abnormalities are seen with extended duration metformin exposure from 4 h post fertilization up to 5 days post fertilization, although short term metformin exposure for 24 h at 4–5 days post fertilization did not lead to any significant abnormalities. Both extended and short term duration did however have an impact on locomotor activity of zebrafish, and several genes involved in neurological and cardiovascular development were differentially expressed after exposure to metformin. The changes seen in behavior, gene expression and morphological abnormalities caused by metformin exposure should be examined further in future studies in order to assess their potential human health implications as metformin prescriptions continue to increase worldwide.

二甲双胍存在于美国的大部分湖泊和溪流中，导致广泛的环境暴露。本研究结果表明，在关键发育时期延长二甲双胍暴露时间会导致斑马鱼 ( danio rerio) 的存活率降低，NIH 批准的人体模型。从受精后 4 小时到受精后 5 天延长二甲双胍暴露时间会出现显着异常，尽管在受精后 4-5 天短期二甲双胍暴露 24 小时不会导致任何显着异常。然而，延长和短期持续时间确实对斑马鱼的运动活动产生影响，并且在暴露于二甲双胍后，涉及神经和心血管发育的几个基因存在差异表达。在未来的研究中应进一步检查二甲双胍暴露引起的行为、基因表达和形态异常的变化，以评估其对人类健康的潜在影响，因为二甲双胍处方在全球范围内持续增加。