Cells constantly adapt their metabolism to meet their energy needs and respond to nutrient availability. Eukaryotes have evolved a very sophisticated system to sense low cellular ATP levels via the serine/threonine kinase AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) complex. Under conditions of low energy, AMPK phosphorylates specific enzymes and growth control nodes to increase ATP generation and decrease ATP consumption. In the past decade, the discovery of numerous new AMPK substrates has led to a more complete understanding of the minimal number of steps required to reprogramme cellular metabolism from anabolism to catabolism. This energy switch controls cell growth and several other cellular processes, including lipid and glucose metabolism and autophagy. Recent studies have revealed that one ancestral function of AMPK is to promote mitochondrial health, and multiple newly discovered targets of AMPK are involved in various aspects of mitochondrial homeostasis, including mitophagy. This Review discusses how AMPK functions as a central mediator of the cellular response to energetic stress and mitochondrial insults and coordinates multiple features of autophagy and mitochondrial biology.

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AMPK: guardian of metabolism and mitochondrial homeostasis.

The function and survival of all organisms is dependent on the dynamic control of energy metabolism, when energy demand is matched to energy supply. The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) αβγ hete...

http://www.digestivo.fmed.edu.uy/Materiales/AMP%20kinasa.pdf

AMPK in Health and Disease

A single entity, the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), phosphorylates and regulates in vivo hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (key regulatory enzymes of sterol synthesis and fatty acid synthesis, respectively), and probably many additional targets. The kinase is activated by high AMP and low ATP via a complex mechanism, which involves allosteric regulation, promotion of phosphorylation by an upstream protein kinase (AMPK kinase), and inhibition of dephosphorylation. This protein-kinase cascade represents a sensitive system, which is activated by cellular stresses that deplete ATP, and thus acts like a cellular fuel gauge. Our central hypothesis is that, when it detects a 'low-fuel' situation, it protects the cell by switching off ATP-consuming pathways (e.g. fatty acid synthesis and sterol synthesis) and switching on alternative pathways for ATP generation (e.g. fatty acid oxidation). Native AMP-activated protein kinase is a heterotrimer consisting of a catalytic alpha subunit, and beta and gamma subunits, which are also essential for activity. All three subunits have homologues in budding yeast, which are components of the SNF1 protein-kinase complex. SNF1 is activated by glucose starvation (which in yeast leads to ATP depletion) and genetic studies have shown that it is involved in derepression of glucose-repressed genes. This raises the intriguing possibility that AMPK may regulate gene expression in mammals. AMPK/SNF1 homologues are found in higher plants, and this protein-kinase cascade appears to be an ancient system which evolved to protect cells against the effects of nutritional or environmental stress.

https://febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1432-1033.1997.00259.x

The AMP‐Activated Protein Kinase

The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) system acts as a sensor of cellular energy status that is conserved in all eukaryotic cells. It is activated by increases in the cellular AMP:ATP ratio caused by metabolic stresses that either interfere with ATP production (eg, deprivation for glucose or oxygen) or that accelerate ATP consumption (eg, muscle contraction). Activation in response to increases in AMP involves phosphorylation by an upstream kinase, the tumor suppressor LKB1. In certain cells (eg, neurones, endothelial cells, and lymphocytes), AMPK can also be activated by a Ca(2+)-dependent and AMP-independent process involving phosphorylation by an alternate upstream kinase, CaMKKbeta. Once activated, AMPK switches on catabolic pathways that generate ATP, while switching off ATP-consuming processes such as biosynthesis and cell growth and proliferation. The AMPK complex contains 3 subunits, with the alpha subunit being catalytic, the beta subunit containing a glycogen-sensing domain, and the gamma subunits containing 2 regulatory sites that bind the activating and inhibitory nucleotides AMP and ATP. Although it may have evolved to respond to metabolic stress at the cellular level, hormones and cytokines such as insulin, leptin, and adiponectin can interact with the system, and it now appears to play a key role in maintaining energy balance at the whole body level. The AMPK system may be partly responsible for the health benefits of exercise and is the target for the antidiabetic drug metformin. It is a key player in the development of new treatments for obesity, type 2 diabetes, and the metabolic syndrome.

AMP-Activated Protein Kinase in Metabolic Control and Insulin Signaling

https://www.jbc.org/content/271/44/27879.full.pdf

Characterization of the AMP-activated Protein Kinase Kinase from Rat Liver and Identification of Threonine 172 as the Major Site at Which It Phosphorylates AMP-activated Protein Kinase

T. Cox

Papers

Mammalian AMP-activated Protein Kinase Subfamily