scholarly journals AMPK as a mediator of hormonal signalling

2009 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chung Thong Lim ◽  
Blerina Kola ◽  
Márta Korbonits

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a key molecular player in energy homeostasis at both cellular and whole-body levels. AMPK has been shown to mediate the metabolic effects of hormones such as leptin, ghrelin, adiponectin, glucocorticoids and insulin as well as cannabinoids. Generally, activated AMPK stimulates catabolic pathways (glycolysis, fatty acid oxidation and mitochondrial biogenesis) and inhibits anabolic pathways (gluconeogenesis, glycogen, fatty acid and protein synthesis), and has a direct appetite-regulating effect in the hypothalamus. Drugs that activate AMPK, namely metformin and thiazolidinediones, are often used to treat metabolic disorders. Thus, AMPK is now recognised as a potential target for the treatment of obesity and associated co-morbidities.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Khoa D.A Nguyen ◽  
Khanh V Doan ◽  

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a cellular energy sensor which plays a crucial role in regulation of whole-body energy homeostasis. Activation of AMPK signaling results in favorable effects on mitochondrial function, autophagy, glucose/lipid metabolism, and insulin sensitivity, making it an important therapeutic target in treatment/prevention of metabolic disorders and cancer. Recently, pharmacological studies of natural phenolic compounds indicated that the benefits on metabolic health of these phytochemicals are not only related to their protogenic antioxidant property but also to their AMPK-activating potential. Due to their diverse structures, identification of phenolic compound molecules which have potential to target the AMPK activation for beneficial metabolic effects may be promising in order to develop novel therapeutics in the prevention and/or treatment of metabolic disorders. In this minireview, we summarize beneficial metabolic outcomes of AMPK activation and discuss the capability of natural polyphenols to activate the AMPK pathway focusing on the phenolic acids as potential lead compounds.


2003 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 196-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Minokoshi ◽  
B.B. Kahn

Leptin regulates energy homoeostasis through central and peripheral mechanisms. Initial steps in leptin action include signalling through a cytokine-like receptor which activates the JAK/STAT pathway. We investigated whether the metabolic effects of leptin in muscle could be mediated by the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMP kinase). Through studies involving leptin injection intrahypothalamically or intravenously, as well as incubation of soleus muscle or cultured muscle cells with leptin, we determined that leptin stimulates fatty acid oxidation in skeletal muscle by activating AMP kinase. Leptin exerts this effect directly at the level of muscle and also through the hypothalamic sympathetic nervous system, specifically engaging α-adrenergic receptors in muscle. This represents a novel and important pathway mediating leptin's metabolic actions.


eLife ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Galic ◽  
Kim Loh ◽  
Lisa Murray-Segal ◽  
Gregory R Steinberg ◽  
Zane B Andrews ◽  
...  

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a known regulator of whole-body energy homeostasis, but the downstream AMPK substrates mediating these effects are not entirely clear. AMPK inhibits fatty acid synthesis and promotes fatty acid oxidation by phosphorylation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) 1 at Ser79 and ACC2 at Ser212. Using mice with Ser79Ala/Ser212Ala knock-in mutations (ACC DKI) we find that inhibition of ACC phosphorylation leads to reduced appetite in response to fasting or cold exposure. At sub-thermoneutral temperatures, ACC DKI mice maintain normal energy expenditure and thermogenesis, but fail to increase appetite and lose weight. We demonstrate that the ACC DKI phenotype can be mimicked in wild type mice using a ghrelin receptor antagonist and that ACC DKI mice have impaired orexigenic responses to ghrelin, indicating ACC DKI mice have a ghrelin signaling defect. These data suggest that therapeutic strategies aimed at inhibiting ACC phosphorylation may suppress appetite following metabolic stress.


2009 ◽  
Vol 296 (4) ◽  
pp. E812-E819 ◽  
Author(s):  
Woo Sik Kim ◽  
Yun Sok Lee ◽  
Seung Hun Cha ◽  
Hyun Woo Jeong ◽  
Sung Sik Choe ◽  
...  

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) plays an important role in regulating whole body energy homeostasis. Recently, it has been demonstrated that berberine (BBR) exerts antiobesity and antidiabetic effects in obese and diabetic rodent models through the activation of AMPK in peripheral tissues. Here we show that BBR improves lipid dysregulation and fatty liver in obese mice through central and peripheral actions. In obese db/db and ob/ob mice, BBR treatment reduced liver weight, hepatic and plasma triglyceride, and cholesterol contents. In the liver and muscle of db/db mice, BBR promoted AMPK activity and fatty acid oxidation and changed expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism. Additionally, intracerebroventricular administration of BBR decreased the level of malonyl-CoA and stimulated the expression of fatty acid oxidation genes in skeletal muscle. Together, these data suggest that BBR would improve fatty liver in obese subjects, which is probably mediated not only by peripheral AMPK activation but also by neural signaling from the central nervous system.


2007 ◽  
Vol 27 (12) ◽  
pp. 4317-4327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsushi Suzuki ◽  
Shiki Okamoto ◽  
Suni Lee ◽  
Kumiko Saito ◽  
Tetsuya Shiuchi ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Leptin stimulates fatty acid oxidation in skeletal muscle through the activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and the induction of gene expression, such as that for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα). We now show that leptin stimulates fatty acid oxidation and PPARα gene expression in the C2C12 muscle cell line through the activation of AMPK containing the α2 subunit (α2AMPK) and through changes in the subcellular localization of this enzyme. Activated α2AMPK containing the β1 subunit was shown to be retained in the cytoplasm, where it phosphorylated acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase and thereby stimulated fatty acid oxidation. In contrast, α2AMPK containing the β2 subunit transiently increased fatty acid oxidation but underwent rapid translocation to the nucleus, where it induced PPARα gene transcription. A nuclear localization signal and Thr172 phosphorylation of α2 were found to be essential for nuclear translocation of α2AMPK, whereas the myristoylation of β1 anchors α2AMPK in the cytoplasm. The prevention of α2AMPK activation and the change in its subcellular localization inhibited the metabolic effects of leptin. Our data thus suggest that the activation of and changes in the subcellular localization of α2AMPK are required for leptin-induced stimulation of fatty acid oxidation and PPARα gene expression in muscle cells.


2007 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 852-856 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean L. McGee

Exercise increases the metabolic capacity of skeletal muscle, which improves whole-body energy homeostasis and contributes to the positive health benefits of exercise. This is, in part, mediated by increases in the expression of a number of metabolic enzymes, regulated largely at the level of transcription. At a molecular level, many of these genes are regulated by the class II histone deacetylase (HDAC) family of transcriptional repressors, in particular HDAC5, through their interaction with myocyte enhancer factor 2 transcription factors. HDAC5 kinases, including 5′-AMP-activated protein kinase and protein kinase D, appear to regulate skeletal muscle metabolic gene transcription by inactivating HDAC5 and inducing HDAC5 nuclear export. These mechanisms appear to participate in exercise-induced gene expression and could be important for skeletal muscle adaptations to exercise.


2015 ◽  
Vol 309 (6) ◽  
pp. E523-E533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshihiko Minegishi ◽  
Satoshi Haramizu ◽  
Koichi Misawa ◽  
Akira Shimotoyodome ◽  
Tadashi Hase ◽  
...  

The transcription factor nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) plays an important role in regulating physiological processes such as immunity and inflammation. In addition to this primary role, NF-κB interacts physically with peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors regulating lipid metabolism-related gene expression and inhibits their transcriptional activity. Therefore, inhibition of NF-κB may promote fatty acid utilization, which could ameliorate obesity and improve endurance capacity. To test this hypothesis, we attempted to elucidate the energy metabolic status of mice lacking the p50 subunit of NF-κB (p50 KO mice) from the tissue to whole body level. p50 KO mice showed a significantly lower respiratory quotient throughout the day than did wild-type (WT) mice; this decrease was associated with increased fatty acid oxidation activity in liver and gastrocnemius muscle of p50 KO mice. p50 KO mice that were fed a high-fat diet were also resistant to fat accumulation and adipose tissue inflammation. Furthermore, p50 KO mice showed a significantly longer maximum running time compared with WT mice, with a lower respiratory exchange ratio during exercise as well as higher residual muscle glycogen content and lower blood lactate levels after exercise. These results suggest that p50 deletion facilitates fatty acid catabolism, leading to an anti-obesity and high-endurance phenotype of mice and supporting the idea that NF-κB is an important regulator of energy metabolism.


Diabetes ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 55 (10) ◽  
pp. 2688-2697 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. L. Carey ◽  
G. R. Steinberg ◽  
S. L. Macaulay ◽  
W. G. Thomas ◽  
A. G. Holmes ◽  
...  

1993 ◽  
Vol 264 (6) ◽  
pp. R1065-R1070 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. Surina ◽  
W. Langhans ◽  
R. Pauli ◽  
C. Wenk

The influence of macronutrient content of a meal on postprandial fatty acid oxidation was investigated in 13 Caucasian males after consumption of a high-fat (HF) breakfast (33% carbohydrate, 52% fat, 15% protein) and after an equicaloric high-carbohydrate (HC) breakfast (78% carbohydrate, 6% fat, 15% protein). The HF breakfast contained short- and medium-chain fatty acids, as well as long-chain fatty acids. Respiratory quotient (RQ) and plasma beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) were measured during the 3 h after the meal as indicators of whole body substrate oxidation and hepatic fatty acid oxidation, respectively. Plasma levels of free fatty acids (FFA), triglycerides, glucose, insulin, and lactate were also determined because of their relationship to nutrient utilization. RQ was significantly lower and plasma BHB was higher after the HF breakfast than after the HC breakfast, implying that more fat is burned in general and specifically in the liver after an HF meal. As expected, plasma FFA and triglycerides were higher after the HF meal, and insulin and lactate were higher after the HC meal. In sum, oxidation of ingested fat occurred in response to a single HF meal.


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