HormonesmTOR and AMPK Drive Preeclampsia — And Metformin May Help or Hurt
Preeclampsia is a dangerous pregnancy complication with no real treatment beyond delivery. This review examines how two key cellular energy sensors — mTOR and AMPK — become dysregulated during preeclampsia, impairing the placental cells that support fetal growth and triggering harmful blood vessel changes. In normal pregnancy, these two pathways work in balance. Under placental oxygen deprivation and oxidative stress, AMPK becomes overactive while mTOR is suppressed, damaging trophoblast function and flooding the bloodstream with anti-angiogenic factors. The review also scrutinizes metformin as a potential therapy, warning that while low-level AMPK activation may help restore balance, higher doses of metformin could deepen the very mTOR suppression driving the disease — a paradox demanding precise dosing strategies.
