AMP-activated protein kinase

5' AMP-activated protein kinase or AMPK or 5' adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase is an enzyme (EC 2.7.11.31) that plays a role in cellular energy homeostasis, largely to activate glucose and fatty acid uptake and oxidation when cellular energy is low. It belongs to a highly conserved eukaryotic protein family and its orthologues are SNF1 in yeast, and SnRK1 in plants. It consists of three proteins (subunits) that together make a functional enzyme, conserved from yeast to humans. It is expressed in a number of tissues, including the liver, brain, and skeletal muscle. In response to binding AMP and ADP, Specifically, the γ subunit includes four particular Cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) domains, giving AMPK its ability to sensitively detect shifts in the AMP/ATP ratio. AMPK is deactivated upon AMP displacement by ATP at CBS site 3, suggesting CBS3 to be the primary allosteric regulatory site. The four CBS domains create two binding sites for AMP commonly referred to as Bateman domains. Binding of one AMP to a Bateman domain cooperatively increases the binding affinity of the second AMP to the other Bateman domain. The α, β, and γ subunits can also be found in different isoforms: the γ subunit can exist as either the γ1, γ2 or γ3 isoform; the β subunit can exist as either the β1 or β2 isoform; and the α subunit can exist as either the α1 or α2 isoform. Although the most common isoforms expressed in most cells are the α1, β1, and γ1 isoforms, it has been demonstrated that the α2, β2, γ2, and γ3 isoforms are also expressed in cardiac and skeletal muscle. AMPK is regulated allosterically and by post-translational modification, which work together. It thus appears that AMPK is a sensor of AMP/ATP or ADP/ATP ratios and thus cell energy level. ADaM site binding may have roles in AMPK activation as well as protection against dephosphorylation.

There are other mechanisms by which AMPK is inhibited or activated by insulin, leptin, and diacylglycerol by inducing various other phosphorylations.

AMPK activates autophagy by directly and indirectly activating ULK1.

Mutations in the skeletal muscle calcium release channel (RYR1) underlies a life- threatening response to heat in patients with malignant hyperthermia susceptibility (MHS). Upon acute exposure to heat, these mutations cause uncontrolled Ca²⁺ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum, leading to sustained muscle contractures, severe hyperthermia, and sudden death. At basal conditions, the temperature-dependent Ca²⁺ leak also leads to increased energy demand and activation of energy sensing AMP kinase (AMPK) in skeletal muscle. Their study compared the response to exercise training of several proteins and enzymes in wild type and AMPKα2 knockout mice. And even though the knockout mice had lower basal markers of mitochondrial density (COX-1, CS, and HAD), these markers increased similarly to the wild type mice after exercise training. These findings are supported by another study also showing no difference in mitochondrial adaptations to exercise training between wild type and knockout mice.

Maximum life span

The C. elegans homologue of AMPK, aak-2, has been shown by Michael Ristow and colleagues to be required for extension of life span in states of glucose restriction mediating a process named mitohormesis. They found that all of the subunits of AMPK were increased in skeletal muscle, especially in the soleus and red quadriceps, with thyroid hormone treatment. There was also an increase in phospho-ACC, a marker of AMPK activity. A second AMPK-control system localized to lysosomes depends on the Galectin-9-TAK1 system and ubiquitination responses at controlled by deubiquitinating enzymes such as USP9X leading to AMPK activation in response to lysosomal damage, crystalline silica causing silicosis, urate crystals associated with gout, or during microbial invasion such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis or coronaviruses causing SARS. Both of the above lysosomally localized systems controlling AMPK activate it in response to metformin, a widely prescribed anti-diabetic drug.

Tumor suppression and promotion

Some evidence indicates that AMPK may have a role in tumor suppression. Studies have found that AMPK may exert most, or even all of, the tumor suppressing properties of liver kinase B1 (LKB1).

In contrast, some studies have linked AMPK with a role as a tumor promoter by protecting cancer cells from stress. Thus, once cancerous cells have formed in an organism, AMPK may swap from protecting against cancer to protecting the cancer itself. Studies have found that tumor cells with AMPK knockout are more susceptible to death by glucose starvation or extracellular matrix detachment, which may indicate AMPK has a role in preventing these two outcomes.

Controversy over role in adaption to exercise/training

A seemingly paradoxical role of AMPK occurs when we take a closer look at the energy-sensing enzyme in relation to exercise and long-term training. Similar to short-term acute training scale, long-term endurance training studies also reveal increases in oxidative metabolic enzymes, GLUT-4, mitochondrial size and quantity, and an increased dependency on the oxidation of fatty acids; however, Winder et al. reported in 2002 that despite observing these increased oxidative biochemical adaptations to long-term endurance training (similar to those mentioned above), the AMPK response (activation of AMPK with the onset of exercise) to acute bouts of exercise decreased in red quadriceps (RQ) with training (3 – see Fig.1). Conversely, the study did not observe the same results in white quadriceps (WQ) and soleus (SOL) muscles that they did in RQ. The trained rats used for that endurance study ran on treadmills 5 days/wk in two 1-h sessions, morning and afternoon. The rats were also running up to 31m/min (grade 15%). Finally, following training, the rats were sacrificed either at rest or following 10 minutes of exercise.

Because the AMPK response to exercise decreases with increased training duration, many questions arise that would challenge the AMPK role with respect to biochemical adaptations to exercise and endurance training. This is due in part to the marked increases in the mitochondrial biogenesis, upregulation of GLUT-4, UCP-3, Hexokinase II along with other metabolic and mitochondrial enzymes despite decreases in AMPK activity with training. Questions also arise because skeletal muscle cells which express these decreases in AMPK activity in response to endurance training also seem to be maintaining an oxidative dependent approach to metabolism, which is likewise thought to be regulated to some extent by AMPK activity.

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