Metformin: An Old Dog with a New Trick?

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) remains an important medical challenge, but recent translational data have provided clues implicating deficient AMPK signaling in persistently activated myelofibroblasts within fibrotic foci. A new study in Nature Medicine reports that pharmacological activation of AMPK with metformin can reverse established fibrosis by facilitating deactivation and apoptosis of myofibroblasts.