Background and Purpose—Ischemic preconditioning (IPC) induces endogenous neuroprotection from a subsequent ischemic injury. IPC involves down-regulation of metabolic pathways. As Adenosine 5′-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a critical sensor of energy balance and plays a major role in cellular metabolism, its role in IPC was investigated. Methods—A brief 3 minute middle cerebra...

OBJECTIVE The regulation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is implicated in vascular biology because AMPK can phosphorylate endothelial NO synthase (eNOS). In this study, we investigate the regulation of the AMPK-eNOS pathway in vascular endothelial cells (ECs) by shear stress and the activation of aortic AMPK in a mouse model with a high level of voluntary running (High-Runner). METHODS...

Loss of function of the tumor suppressor LKB1 occurs in 30% to 50% of lung adenocarcinomas. Because LKB1 activates AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which can negatively regulate mTOR, AMPK activation might be desirable for cancer therapy. However, no known compounds activate AMPK independently of LKB1 in vivo , and the usefulness of activating AMPK in LKB1-mutant cancers is unknown. Here, w...

Background Cancer cells reprogram their metabolism for optimal growth and survival. Identifying the genes and their functions crucial for cancer metabolic reprograming might have therapeutic implications. The multifunctional kinase AMPK is an evolutionarily conserved energy sensor that plays an important role in cell proliferation, growth and survival. It remains unclear whether AMPK functions ...

Activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is considered a valid strategy for the treatment type 2 diabetes. However, despite importance adipose tissue whole-body energy homeostasis, effect AMPK activation in adipocytes has only been studied to limited extent and mainly with AMP-mimetic 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-β-d-ribofuranoside (AICAR), which specificity. The aim this study was...

Jensen TE, Rose AJ, Hellsten Y, Wojtaszewski JF, Richter EA. Caffeine-induced Ca release increases AMPK-dependent glucose uptake in rodent soleus muscle. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 293: E286–E292, 2007. First published April 3, 2007; doi:10.1152/ajpendo.00693.2006.—Previous studies have proposed that caffeine-induced activation of glucose transport in skeletal muscle is independent of AMP-ac...

During metabolic stress, phosphorylation and activation of 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) becomes a major regulator of cellular energy metabolism in heart and skeletal muscle. Despite this, the upstream regulation of AMPK in both heart and muscle is poorly understood. Recent work has implicated the atypical protein kinase Czeta (PKCzeta) as a regulator of AMPK in endothelial cells via p...

Dysregulation of AMPK signaling has been implicated in many human diseases, which emphasizes the importance of characterizing AMPK regulators. The tumor suppressor FLCN, responsible for the Birt-Hogg Dubé renal neoplasia syndrome (BHD), is an AMPK-binding partner but the genetic and functional links between FLCN and AMPK have not been established. Strikingly, the majority of naturally occurring...

Luteolin, a plant-derived flavonoid, is thought to inhibit tumor growth. However, the precise molecular mechanisms by which luteolin inhibits cancer cell growth remain unclear. In the present study, we evaluated the role of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in the inhibition of cancer cell growth by luteolin in HepG2 hepatocarcinoma cells. AMPK is a metabolic sensor and may prevent carcinogen...

Organisms must utilize multiple mechanisms to maintain energetic homeostasis in the face of limited nutrient availability. One mechanism involves activation of the heterotrimeric AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a cell-autonomous sensor to energetic changes regulated by ATP to AMP ratios. We examined the phenotypic consequences of reduced AMPK function, both through RNAi knockdown of the ga...