AMPK expression and phosphorylation are increased in rodent muscle after chronic leptin treatment

We have previously reported that chronic leptin administration (2 wk) increases fatty acid (FA) oxidation and triacylglycerol hydrolysis in rodent soleus muscle. Acute stimulation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) results in a repartitioning of FA toward oxidation and away from esterification in rodent soleus muscle and has recently been shown to be responsible, at least in part, for the acute stimulatory effect of leptin on FA oxidation. Therefore, we hypothesized that the effects of chronic leptin treatment on muscle FA metabolism are mediated in part through an increased expression and/or activation of AMPK and a subsequent phosphorylation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase and a decrease in malonyl-CoA content. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were infused for 2 wk with leptin (0.5 mg x kg(-1) x day(-1)) using subcutaneously implanted mini-osmotic pumps. Control and pair-fed animals received saline-filled implants. Leptin levels were elevated approximately fourfold (P < 0.001) in treated animals, relative to controls. Chronic leptin treatment resulted in an approximately 2- to 3-fold greater protein expression of AMPK catalytic (alpha(2)) and regulatory (beta(2)) units as well as a 1.5- to 2-fold increase in Thr(172) phosphorylation of AMPK in both soleus and white gastrocnemius muscles. The increased expression/phosphorylation of AMPK was not the result of an altered energy status of the muscle. Correspondingly, there was also a 1.5- to 2-fold increase in acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) phosphorylation after leptin treatment in soleus and white gastrocnemius. In spite of the measured increase in ACC phosphorylation after leptin treatment, we were unable to detect a decrease in resting malonyl-CoA content in either muscle. However, taken as a whole, our data support recent evidence in rodent muscle that leptin stimulates FA oxidation through stimulation of AMPK and a subsequent downregulation of ACC activity.     

Regulation of energy metabolism by AMPK: a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases

The 5' AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a sensor of cellular energy homeostasis well conserved in all eukaryotic cells. AMPK is activated by rising AMP and falling ATP, either by inhibiting ATP production or by accelerating ATP consumption, by a complex mechanism that results in an ultrasensitive response. AMPK is a heterotrimeric enzyme complex consisting of a catalytic subunit alpha and two regulatory subunits beta and gamma. AMP activates the system by binding to the gamma subunit that triggers phosphorylation of the catalytic alpha subunit by the upstream kinases LKB1 and CaMKKbeta. Once activated, it switches on catabolic pathways (such as fatty acid oxidation and glycolysis) and switches off ATP-consuming pathways (such as lipogenesis) both by short-term effect on phosphorylation of regulatory proteins and by long-term effect on gene expression. Dominant mutations in the regulatory gamma subunit isoforms cause hypertrophy of cardiac and skeletal muscle providing a link in human diseases caused by defects in energy metabolism. As well as acting at the level of the individual cell, the system also regulates food intake and energy expenditure at the whole body level, in particular by mediating the effects of adipokines such as leptin and adiponectin. Moreover, the AMPK system is one of the probable target for the anti-diabetic drug metformin and rosiglitazone. The relationship between AMPK activation and beneficial metabolic effects provides the rationale for the development of new therapeutic strategies. Thus, pharmacological AMPK activation may, through signaling, metabolic and gene expression effects, reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cardiac diseases.     

Genistein stimulates fatty acid oxidation in a leptin receptor-independent manner through the JAK2-mediated phosphorylation and activation of AMPK in skeletal muscle

Obesity is a public health problem that contributes to the development of insulin resistance, which is associated with an excessive accumulation of lipids in skeletal muscle tissue. There is evidence that soy protein can decrease the ectopic accumulation of lipids and improves insulin sensitivity; however, it is unknown whether soy isoflavones, particularly genistein, can stimulate fatty acid oxidation in the skeletal muscle. Thus, we studied the mechanism by which genistein stimulates fatty acid oxidation in the skeletal muscle. We showed that genistein induced the expression of genes of fatty acid oxidation in the skeletal muscle of Zucker fa/fa rats and in leptin receptor (ObR)-silenced C2C12 myotubes through AMPK phosphorylation. Furthermore, the genistein-mediated AMPK phosphorylation occurred via JAK2, which was possibly activated through a mechanism that involved cAMP. Additionally, the genistein-mediated induction of fatty acid oxidation genes involved PGC1α and PPARδ. As a result, we observed that genistein increased fatty acid oxidation in both the control and silenced C2C12 myotubes, as well as a decrease in the RER in mice, suggesting that genistein can be used in strategies to decrease lipid accumulation in the skeletal muscle.     

AMPK activity and isoform protein expression are similar in muscle of obese subjects with and without type 2 diabetes

Acute or chronic activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) increases insulin sensitivity. Conversely, reduced expression and/or function of AMPK might play a role in insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes. Thus protein expression of the seven subunit isoforms of AMPK and activities and/or phosphorylation of AMPK and acetyl-CoA carboxylase-beta (ACCbeta) was measured in skeletal muscle from obese type 2 diabetic and well-matched control subjects during euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamps. Protein expression of all AMPK subunit isoforms (alpha1, alpha2, beta1, beta2, gamma1, gamma2, and gamma3) in muscle of obese type 2 diabetic subjects was similar to that of control subjects. In addition, alpha1- and alpha2-associated activities of AMPK, phosphorylation of alpha-AMPK subunits at Thr172, and phosphorylation of ACCbeta at Ser221 showed no difference between the two groups and were not regulated by physiological concentrations of insulin. These data suggest that impaired insulin action on glycogen synthesis and lipid oxidation in skeletal muscle of obese type 2 diabetic subjects is unlikely to involve changes in AMPK expression and activity.     

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha activates transcription of the brown fat uncoupling protein-1 gene. A link between regulation of the thermogenic and lipid oxidation pathways in the brown fat cell

High expression of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha) differentiates brown fat from white, and is related to its high capacity of lipid oxidation. We analyzed the effects of PPARalpha activation on expression of the brown fat-specific uncoupling protein-1 (ucp-1) gene. Activators of PPARalpha increased UCP-1 mRNA levels severalfold both in primary brown adipocytes and in brown fat in vivo. Transient transfection assays indicated that the (-4551)UCP1-CAT construct, containing the 5'-regulatory region of the rat ucp-1 gene, was activated by PPARalpha co-transfection in a dose-dependent manner and this activation was potentiated by Wy 14,643 and retinoid X receptor alpha. The coactivators CBP and PPARgamma-coactivator-1 (PGC-1), which is highly expressed in brown fat, also enhanced the PPARalpha-dependent regulation of the ucp-1 gene. Deletion and point-mutation mapping analysis indicated that the PPARalpha-responsive element was located in the upstream enhancer region of the ucp-1 gene. This -2485/-2458 element bound PPARalpha and PPARgamma from brown fat nuclei. Moreover, this element behaved as a promiscuous responsive site to either PPARalpha or PPARgamma activation, and we propose that it mediates ucp-1 gene up-regulation associated with adipogenic differentiation (via PPARgamma) or in coordination with gene expression for the fatty acid oxidation machinery required for active thermogenesis (via PPARalpha).     

PPARalpha suppresses insulin secretion and induces UCP2 in insulinoma cells

Fatty acids may promote type 2 diabetes by altering insulin secretion from pancreatic beta cells, a process known as lipotoxicity. The underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. To test the hypothesis that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha) has a direct effect on islet function, we treated INS-1 cells, an insulinoma cell line, with a PPARalpha adenovirus (AdPPARalpha) as well as the PPARalpha agonist clofibric acid. AdPPARalpha-infected INS-1 cells showed PPARalpha agonist- and fatty acid-dependent transactivation of a PPARalpha reporter gene. Treatment with either AdPPARalpha or clofibric acid increased both catalase activity (a marker of peroxisomal proliferation) and palmitate oxidation. AdPPARalpha induced carnitine-palmitoyl transferase-I (CPT-I) mRNA, but had no effect on insulin gene expression. AdPPARalpha treatment increased cellular triglyceride content but clofibric acid did not. Both AdPPARalpha and clofibric acid decreased basal and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Despite increasing fatty acid oxidation, AdPPARalpha did not increase cellular ATP content suggesting the stimulation of uncoupled respiration. Consistent with these observations, UCP2 expression doubled in PPARalpha-treated cells. Clofibric acid-induced suppression of glucose-simulated insulin secretion was prevented by the CPT-I inhibitor etomoxir. These data suggest that PPARalpha-stimulated fatty acid oxidation can impair beta cell function.     

Nuclear import of factors involved in signaling is inhibited in C3H/10T1/2 cells treated with tetradecylthioacetic acid

The non-beta-oxidisable tetradecylthioacetic acid (TTA) is incorporated into cellular membranes when C3H/10T1/2 cells are cultured in TTA-containing medium. We here demonstrate that this alteration in cellular membranes affect the nuclear translocation of proteins involved in signal transduction. Analysis of cellular fatty acid composition shows that TTA and TTA:1n-8 constitute approximately 40 mol% of total fatty acids in cellular/nuclear membranes. Activation of c-fos expression is significantly inhibited in TTA-treated cells but the enzymatic activation of mitogen activated protein kinase (ERK) is not affected. Immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy studies demonstrate that in mitogene-stimulated TTA-treated cells, the translocation of phosphorylated ERK1/2, protein kinase C alpha (PKC alpha), and PKC beta(1) from the cytoplasm into the nucleus is considerably decreased and delayed. Concomitant with a decreased nuclear import, ERK1/2 dephosphorylation is decreased in TTA-treated cells. There is no TTA-induced inhibition of nuclear import of proteins with a classical nuclear localization signal (NLS), as seen by in vitro nuclear import experiments of BSA fused to the NLS from SV40 large T, or in vivo studies of hnRNP A1 nuclear import. The expression levels of Importin alpha, Importin beta, Importin 7, and NTF2 are not altered in the TTA-treated cells. Taken together, our data indicate that TTA treatment causes changes in cellular fatty acid composition that negatively affect NLS-independent mechanisms of protein translocation through the nuclear pore complex.     

Leptin activates cardiac fatty acid oxidation independent of changes in the AMP-activated protein kinase-acetyl-CoA carboxylase-malonyl-CoA axis

Leptin regulates fatty acid metabolism in liver, skeletal muscle, and pancreas by partitioning fatty acids into oxidation rather than triacylglycerol (TG) storage. Although leptin receptors are present in the heart, it is not known whether leptin also regulates cardiac fatty acid metabolism. To determine whether leptin directly regulates cardiac fatty acid metabolism, isolated working rat hearts were perfused with 0.8 mm [9,10-(3)H]palmitate and 5 mm [1-(14)C]glucose to measure palmitate and glucose oxidation rates. Leptin (60 ng/ml) significantly increased palmitate oxidation rates 60% above control hearts (p < 0.05) and decreased TG content by 33% (p < 0.05) over the 60-min perfusion period. In contrast, there was no difference in glucose oxidation rates between leptin-treated and control hearts. Although leptin did not affect cardiac work, oxygen consumption increased by 30% (p < 0.05) and cardiac efficiency was decreased by 42% (p < 0.05). AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) plays a major role in the regulation of cardiac fatty acid oxidation by inhibiting acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and reducing malonyl-CoA levels. Leptin has also been shown to increase fatty acid oxidation in skeletal muscle through the activation of AMPK. However, we demonstrate that leptin had no significant effect on AMPK activity, AMPK phosphorylation state, ACC activity, or malonyl-CoA levels. AMPK activity and its phosphorylation state were also unaffected after 5 and 10 min of perfusion in the presence of leptin. The addition of insulin (100 microunits/ml) to the perfusate reduced the ability of leptin to increase fatty acid oxidation and decrease cardiac TG content. These data demonstrate for the first time that leptin activates fatty acid oxidation and decreases TG content in the heart. We also show that the effects of leptin in the heart are independent of changes in the AMPK-ACC-malonyl-CoA axis.     

AMPK beta subunit targets metabolic stress sensing to glycogen

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a multisubstrate enzyme activated by increases in AMP during metabolic stress caused by exercise, hypoxia, lack of cell nutrients, as well as hormones, including adiponectin and leptin. Furthermore, metformin and rosiglitazone, frontline drugs used for the treatment of type II diabetes, activate AMPK. Mammalian AMPK is an alphabetagamma heterotrimer with multiple isoforms of each subunit comprising alpha1, alpha2, beta1, beta2, gamma1, gamma2, and gamma3, which have varying tissue and subcellular expression. Mutations in the AMPK gamma subunit cause glycogen storage disease in humans, but the molecular relationship between glycogen and the AMPK/Snf1p kinase subfamily has not been apparent. We show that the AMPK beta subunit contains a functional glycogen binding domain (beta-GBD) that is most closely related to isoamylase domains found in glycogen and starch branching enzymes. Mutation of key glycogen binding residues, predicted by molecular modeling, completely abolished beta-GBD binding to glycogen. AMPK binds to glycogen but retains full activity. Overexpressed AMPK beta1 localized to specific mammalian subcellular structures that corresponded with the expression pattern of glycogen phosphorylase. Glycogen binding provides an architectural link between AMPK and a major cellular energy store and juxtaposes AMPK to glycogen bound phosphatases.     

Alpha2-AMPK activity is not essential for an increase in fatty acid oxidation during low-intensity exercise

A single bout of exercise increases glucose uptake and fatty acid oxidation in skeletal muscle, with a corresponding activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). While the exercise-induced increase in glucose uptake is partly due to activation of AMPK, it is unclear whether the increase of fatty acid oxidation is dependent on activation of AMPK. To examine this, transgenic mice were produced expressing a dominant-negative (DN) mutant of alpha(1)-AMPK (alpha(1)-AMPK-DN) in skeletal muscle and subjected to treadmill running. alpha(1)-AMPK-DN mice exhibited a 50% reduction in alpha(1)-AMPK activity and almost complete loss of alpha(2)-AMPK activity in skeletal muscle compared with wild-type littermates (WT). The fasting-induced decrease in respiratory quotient (RQ) ratio and reduced body weight were similar in both groups. In contrast with WT mice, alpha(1)-AMPK-DN mice could not perform high-intensity (30 m/min) treadmill exercise, although their response to low-intensity (10 m/min) treadmill exercise was not compromised. Changes in oxygen consumption and the RQ ratio during sedentary and low-intensity exercise were not different between alpha(1)-AMPK-DN and WT. Importantly, at low-intensity exercise, increased fatty acid oxidation in response to exercise in soleus (type I, slow twitch muscle) or extensor digitorum longus muscle (type II, fast twitch muscle) was not impaired in alpha(1)-AMPK-DN mice, indicating that alpha(1)-AMPK-DN mice utilize fatty acid in the same manner as WT mice during low-intensity exercise. These findings suggest that an increased alpha(2)-AMPK activity is not essential for increased skeletal muscle fatty acid oxidation during endurance exercise.     

Insulin induces translocation of the alpha 2 and beta 1 subunits of the Na+/K(+)-ATPase from intracellular compartments to the plasma membrane in mammalian skeletal muscle.

Unlike glucose transport, where translocation of the insulin-responsive glucose transporter (GLUT4) from an intracellular compartment to the plasma membrane is the principal mechanism underlying insulin stimulation, no consensus exists presently for the mechanism by which insulin activates the Na+/K(+)-ATPase. We have investigated (i) the subunit isoforms expressed and (ii) the effect of insulin on the subcellular distribution of the alpha beta isoforms of the Na+/K(+)-ATPase in plasma membranes (PM) and internal membranes (IM) from rat skeletal muscle. Western blot analysis, using isoform-specific antibodies to the various subunits of the Na+/K(+)-ATPase, revealed that skeletal muscle PM contains the alpha 1 and alpha 2 catalytic subunits and the beta 1 and beta 2 subunits of the Na+ pump. Skeletal muscle IM were enriched in alpha 2, beta 1, and beta 2; alpha 1 was barely detectable in this fraction. After insulin treatment, alpha 2 content in the PM increased, with a parallel decrease in its abundance in the IM pool; insulin did not have any effect on alpha 1 isoform amount or subcellular distribution. The beta 1 subunit, but not beta 2, was also elevated in the PM after insulin treatment, but this increase originated from a sucrose gradient fraction different from that of the alpha 2 subunit. Our findings suggest that insulin induces an isoform-specific translocation of Na+ pump subunits from different intracellular sources to the PM and that the hormone-responsive enzyme in rat skeletal muscle is an alpha 2:beta 1 dimer.     

Activation-induced subcellular redistribution of Gs alpha.

We have examined the subcellular distribution of alpha s, the alpha subunit of the heterotrimeric G protein Gs, by using immunofluorescence microscopy. In transiently transfected HEK293 cells, wild-type alpha s localizes to the plasma membrane. However, a mutationally activated alpha s (alpha sR201C) is diffusely distributed throughout the cytoplasm. Similarly, cholera toxin activation of alpha s causes it to redistribute from the plasma membrane to cytoplasm in stably transfected cells. In HEK293 cells stably transfected with alpha s and the beta 2-adrenergic receptor (beta-AR), stimulation of the beta-AR by the agonist isoproterenol also causes a translocation of alpha s from the plasma membrane to cytoplasm. Replacing the agonist with antagonist allows alpha s to return to the plasma membrane, demonstrating the reversibility of alpha s translocation. Receptor-activated alpha s does not colocalize with internalized beta-AR at endosomes. Incubation of cells in hypertonic sucrose to inhibit clathrin-coated pit-mediated endocytosis of agonist-activated beta-AR failed to block agonist-stimulated redistribution of alpha s. These findings demonstrate that activated alpha s reversibly undergoes a translocation from the plasma membrane to cytoplasm and begin to address the relationship between regulated trafficking of a seven-transmembrane receptor and its cognate G protein.     

Low-intensity contraction activates the alpha1-isoform of 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase in rat skeletal muscle

Skeletal muscle expresses two catalytic subunits, alpha1 and alpha2, of the 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which has been implicated in contraction-stimulated glucose transport and fatty acid oxidation. Muscle contraction activates the alpha2-containing AMPK complex (AMPKalpha2), but this activation may occur with or without activation of the alpha1-containing AMPK complex (AMPKalpha1), suggesting that AMPKalpha2 is the major isoform responsible for contraction-induced metabolic events in skeletal muscle. We report for the first time that AMPKalpha1, but not AMPKalpha2, can be activated in contracting skeletal muscle. Rat epitrochlearis muscles were isolated and incubated in Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer containing pyruvate. In muscles stimulated to contract at a frequency of 1 and 2 Hz during the last 2 min of incubation, AMPKalpha1 activity increased twofold and AMPKalpha2 activity remained unchanged. Muscle stimulation did not change the muscle AMP concentration or the AMP-to-ATP ratio. AMPK activation was associated with increased phosphorylation of Thr(172) of the alpha-subunit, the primary activation site. Muscle stimulation increased the phosphorylation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), a downstream target of AMPK, and the rate of 3-O-methyl-d-glucose transport. In contrast, increasing the frequency (>or=5 Hz) or duration (>or=5 min) of contraction activated AMPKalpha1 and AMPKalpha2 and increased AMP concentration and the AMP/ATP ratio. These results suggest that 1) AMPKalpha1 is the predominant isoform activated by AMP-independent phosphorylation in low-intensity contracting muscle, 2) AMPKalpha2 is activated by an AMP-dependent mechanism in high-intensity contracting muscle, and 3) activation of each isoform enhances glucose transport and ACC phosphorylation in skeletal muscle.     

Role of AMP kinase and PPARdelta in the regulation of lipid and glucose metabolism in human skeletal muscle

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)delta has been implicated in the regulation of lipid metabolism in skeletal muscle. Furthermore, activation of PPARdelta has been proposed to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce glucose levels in animal models of type 2 diabetes. We recently demonstrated that the PPARdelta agonist GW501516 activates AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and stimulates glucose uptake in skeletal muscle. However, the underlying mechanism remains to be clearly identified. In this study, we first confirmed that incubation of primary cultured human muscle cells with GW501516 induced AMPK phosphorylation and increased fatty acid transport and oxidation and glucose uptake. Using small interfering RNA, we have demonstrated that PPARdelta expression is required for the effect of GW501516 on the intracellular accumulation of fatty acids. Furthermore, we have shown that the subsequent increase in fatty acid oxidation induced by GW501516 is dependent on both PPARdelta and AMPK. Concomitant with these metabolic changes, we provide evidence that GW501516 increases the expression of key genes involved in lipid metabolism (FABP3, CPT1, and PDK4) by a PPARdelta-dependent mechanism. Finally, we have also demonstrated that the GW501516-mediated increase in glucose uptake requires AMPK but not PPARdelta. In conclusion, the PPARdelta agonist GW501516 promotes changes in lipid/glucose metabolism and gene expression in human skeletal muscle cells by PPARdelta- and AMPK-dependent and -independent mechanisms.     

Diet-induced obesity alters AMP kinase activity in hypothalamus and skeletal muscle

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a key regulator of cellular energy balance and of the effects of leptin on food intake and fatty acid oxidation. Obesity is usually associated with resistance to the effects of leptin on food intake and body weight. To determine whether diet-induced obesity (DIO) impairs the AMPK response to leptin in muscle and/or hypothalamus, we fed FVB mice a high fat (55%) diet for 10-12 weeks. Leptin acutely decreased food intake by approximately 30% in chow-fed mice. DIO mice tended to eat less, and leptin had no effect on food intake. Leptin decreased respiratory exchange ratio in chow-fed mice indicating increased fatty acid oxidation. Respiratory exchange ratio was low basally in high fat-fed mice, and leptin had no further effect. Leptin (3 mg/kg intraperitoneally) increased alpha2-AMPK activity 2-fold in muscle in chow-fed mice but not in DIO mice. Leptin decreased acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity 40% in muscle from chow-fed mice. In muscle from DIO mice, acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity was basally low, and leptin had no further effect. In paraventricular, arcuate, and medial hypothalamus of chow-fed mice, leptin inhibited alpha2-AMPK activity but not in DIO mice. In addition, leptin increased STAT3 phosphorylation 2-fold in arcuate of chow-fed mice, but this effect was attenuated because of elevated basal STAT3 phosphorylation in DIO mice. Thus, DIO in FVB mice alters alpha2-AMPK in muscle and hypothalamus and STAT3 in hypothalamus and impairs further effects of leptin on these signaling pathways. Defective responses of AMPK to leptin may contribute to resistance to leptin action on food intake and energy expenditure in obese states.