Structural insight into AMPK regulation: ADP comes into play

The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a sensor of cellular energy status found in all eukaryotes, responds to changes in intracellular adenosine nucleotide levels resulting from metabolic stresses. Here we describe crystal structures of a heterotrimeric regulatory core fragment from Schizosaccharomyces pombe AMPK in complex with ADP, ADP/AMP, ADP/ATP, and 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide 1-beta-D-ribofuranotide (AICAR phosphate, or ZMP), a well-characterized AMPK activator. Prior crystallographic studies had revealed a single site in the gamma subunit that binds either ATP or AMP within Bateman domain B. Here we show that ZMP binds at this site, mimicking the binding of AMP. An analogous site in Bateman domain A selectively accommodates ADP, which binds in a distinct manner that also involves direct ligation to elements from the beta subunit. These observations suggest a possible role for ADP in regulating AMPK response to changes in cellular energy status.     

Regulation of AMP-activated protein kinase by a pseudosubstrate sequence on the gamma subunit

The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) system monitors cellular energy status by sensing AMP and ATP, and is a key regulator of energy balance at the cellular and whole-body levels. AMPK exists as heterotrimeric alphabetagamma complexes, and the gamma subunits contain two tandem domains that bind the regulatory nucleotides. There is a sequence in the first of these domains that is conserved in gamma subunit homologues in all eukaryotes, and which resembles the sequence around sites phosphorylated on target proteins of AMPK, except that it has a non-phosphorylatable residue in place of serine. We propose that in the absence of AMP this pseudosubstrate sequence binds to the active site groove on the alpha subunit, preventing phosphorylation by the upstream kinase, LKB1, and access to downstream targets. Binding of AMP causes a conformational change that prevents this interaction and relieves the inhibition. We present several lines of evidence supporting this hypothesis.     

AMP-activated protein kinase: also regulated by ADP?

AMPK is a ubiquitous sensor of cellular energy status in eukaryotic cells. It is activated by stresses causing ATP depletion and, once activated, maintains energy homeostasis by phosphorylating targets that activate catabolism and inhibit energy-consuming processes. Evidence derived from non-mammalian orthologs suggests that its ancestral role was in the response to starvation for a carbon source. We review recent findings showing that AMPK is activated by ADP as well as AMP, and discuss the mechanism by which binding of these nucleotides prevent its dephosphorylation and inactivation. We also discuss the role of the carbohydrate-binding module on the β subunit and the mechanisms by which it is activated by drugs and xenobiotics such as metformin and resveratrol.     

Development of protein kinase activators: AMPK as a target in metabolic disorders and cancer

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a cellular energy sensor activated by metabolic stresses that either inhibit ATP synthesis or accelerate ATP consumption. Activation of AMPK in response to an increase in the cellular AMP:ATP ratio results in inhibition of ATP-consuming processes such as gluconeogenesis and fatty acid synthesis, while stimulating ATP-generating processes, including fatty acid oxidation. These alterations in lipid and glucose metabolism would be expected to ameliorate the pathogenesis of obesity, type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders. Recently, AMPK has also been identified as a potential target for cancer prevention and/or treatment. Cell growth and proliferation are energetically demanding, and AMPK may act as an “energy checkpoint” that permits growth and proliferation only when energy reserves are sufficient. Thus, activators of AMPK could have potential as novel therapeutics both for metabolic disorders and for cancer, which together constitute two of the most prevalent groups of diseases worldwide.     

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.     

AMP-activated protein kinase plays an important evolutionary conserved role in the regulation of glucose metabolism in fish skeletal muscle cells

AMPK, a master metabolic switch, mediates the observed increase of glucose uptake in locomotory muscle of mammals during exercise. AMPK is activated by changes in the intracellular AMP:ATP ratio when ATP consumption is stimulated by contractile activity but also by AICAR and metformin, compounds that increase glucose transport in mammalian muscle cells. However, the possible role of AMPK in the regulation of glucose metabolism in skeletal muscle has not been investigated in other vertebrates, including fish. In this study, we investigated the effects of AMPK activators on glucose uptake, AMPK activity, cell surface levels of trout GLUT4 and expression of GLUT1 and GLUT4 as well as the expression of enzymes regulating glucose disposal and PGC1α in trout myotubes derived from a primary muscle cell culture. We show that AICAR and metformin significantly stimulated glucose uptake (1.6 and 1.3 fold, respectively) and that Compound C completely abrogated the stimulatory effects of the AMPK activators on glucose uptake. The combination of insulin and AMPK activators did not result in additive nor synergistic effects on glucose uptake. Moreover, exposure of trout myotubes to AICAR and metformin resulted in an increase in AMPK activity (3.8 and 3 fold, respectively). We also provide evidence suggesting that stimulation of glucose uptake by AMPK activators in trout myotubes may take place, at least in part, by increasing the cell surface and mRNA levels of trout GLUT4. Finally, AICAR increased the mRNA levels of genes involved in glucose disposal (hexokinase, 6-phosphofructokinase, pyruvate kinase and citrate synthase) and mitochondrial biogenesis (PGC-1α) and did not affect glycogen content or glycogen synthase mRNA levels in trout myotubes. Therefore, we provide evidence, for the first time in non-mammalian vertebrates, suggesting a potentially important role of AMPK in stimulating glucose uptake and utilization in the skeletal muscle of fish.     

5'-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) regulates progesterone receptor transcriptional activity in breast cancer cells

The steroid hormone progesterone is an essential regulator of the cellular processes that are required for the development and maintenance of reproductive function. The diverse effects of progesterone are mediated by the progesterone receptor (PR). The functions of the PR are regulated not only by ligands but also by modulators of various cell signaling pathways. However, it is not clear which energy state regulates PR activity. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a serine/threonine protein kinase, is a key modulator of energy homeostasis. Once activated by an increasing cellular AMP:ATP ratio, AMPK switches off ATP-consuming processes and switches on ATP-producing processes. We found that both 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide 1-β-d-ribofuranoside (AICAR) and metformin, traditional pharmacological activators of AMPK, inhibited the PR pathway, as evidenced by progesterone response element (PRE)-driven luciferase activity and PR target gene expression. Compound C, an inhibitor of AMPK, partly but significantly reversed the anti-PR effects of AICAR and metformin. The downregulation of endogenous AMPK by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) stimulated PR activity. AMPK activation by AICAR decreased the progesterone-induced phosphorylation of PR at serine 294 and inhibited the recruitment of PR to an endogenous PRE. Taken together, our data suggest that AMPK, an energy sensor, is involved in the regulation of PR signaling.     

AMP-activated protein kinase: the energy charge hypothesis revisited.

The AMP-activated protein kinase cascade is a sensor of cellular energy charge, and its existence provides strong support for the energy charge hypothesis first proposed by Daniel Atkinson in the 1960s. The system is activated in an ultrasensitive manner by cellular stresses that deplete ATP (and consequently elevate AMP), either by inhibiting ATP production (e.g., hypoxia), or by accelerating ATP consumption (e.g., exercise in muscle). Once activated, it switches on catabolic pathways, both acutely by phosphorylation of metabolic enzymes and chronically by effects on gene expression, and switches off many ATP-consuming processes. Recent work suggests that activation of AMPK is responsible for many of the effects of physical exercise, both the rapid metabolic effects and the adaptations that occur during training. Dominant mutations in regulatory subunit isoforms (gamma2 and gamma3) of AMPK, which appear to increase the basal activity in the absence of AMP, lead to hypertrophy of cardiac and skeletal muscle respectively.     

Intrasteric control of AMPK via the gamma1 subunit AMP allosteric regulatory site

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a alphabetagamma heterotrimer that is activated in response to both hormones and intracellular metabolic stress signals. AMPK is regulated by phosphorylation on the alpha subunit and by AMP allosteric control previously thought to be mediated by both alpha and gamma subunits. Here we present evidence that adjacent gamma subunit pairs of CBS repeat sequences (after Cystathionine Beta Synthase) form an AMP binding site related to, but distinct from the classical AMP binding site in phosphorylase, that can also bind ATP. The AMP binding site of the gamma(1) CBS1/CBS2 pair, modeled on the structures of the CBS sequences present in the inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase crystal structure, contains three arginine residues 70, 152, and 171 and His151. The yeast gamma homolog, snf4 contains a His151Gly substitution, and when this is introduced into gamma(1), AMP allosteric control is substantially lost and explains why the yeast snf1p/snf4p complex is insensitive to AMP. Arg70 in gamma(1) corresponds to the site of mutation in human gamma(2) and pig gamma(3) genes previously identified to cause an unusual cardiac phenotype and glycogen storage disease, respectively. Mutation of any of AMP binding site Arg residues to Gln substantially abolishes AMP allosteric control in expressed AMPK holoenzyme. The Arg/Gln mutations also suppress the previously described inhibitory properties of ATP and render the enzyme constitutively active. We propose that ATP acts as an intrasteric inhibitor by bridging the alpha and gamma subunits and that AMP functions to derepress AMPK activity.     

Metformin and phenformin activate AMP-activated protein kinase in the heart by increasing cytosolic AMP concentration

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) acts as a cellular energy sensor: it responds to an increase in AMP concentration ([AMP]) or the AMP-to-ATP ratio (AMP/ATP). Metformin and phenformin, which are biguanides, have been reported to increase AMPK activity without increasing AMP/ATP. This study tests the hypothesis that these biguanides increase AMPK activity in the heart by increasing cytosolic [AMP]. Groups of isolated rat hearts (n = 5-7 each) were perfused with Krebs-Henseleit buffer with or without 0.2 mM phenformin or 10 mM metformin, and (31)P-NMR-measured phosphocreatine, ATP, and intracellular pH were used to calculate cytosolic [AMP]. At various times, hearts were freeze-clamped and assayed for AMPK activity, phosphorylation of Thr(172) on AMPK-alpha, and phosphorylation of Ser(79) on acetyl-CoA carboxylase, an AMPK target. In hearts treated with phenformin for 18 min and then perfused for 20 min with Krebs-Henseleit buffer, [AMP] began to increase at 26 min and AMPK activity was elevated at 36 min. In hearts treated with metformin, [AMP] was increased at 50 min and AMPK activity, phosphorylated AMPK, and phosphorylated acetyl-CoA carboxylase were elevated at 61 min. In metformin-treated hearts, HPLC-measured total AMP content and total AMP/ATP did not increase. In summary, phenformin and metformin increase AMPK activity and phosphorylation in the isolated heart. The increase in AMPK activity was always preceded by and correlated with increased cytosolic [AMP]. Total AMP content and total AMP/ATP did not change. Cytosolic [AMP] reported metabolically active AMP, which triggered increased AMPK activity, but measures of total AMP did not.     

Some regulatory properties of pea leaf carbamoyl phosphate synthetase

Carbamoyl phosphate synthetase of pea shoots (Pisum sativum L.) was purified 101-fold. Its stability was greatly increased by the addition of substrates and activators. The enzyme was strongly inhibited by micromolar amounts of UMP (Ki less than 2 mum). UDP, UTP, TMP, and ADP were also inhibitory. AMP caused either slight activation (under certain conditions) or was inhibitory. Uridine nucleotides were competitive inhibitors, as was AMP, while ADP was a noncompetitive inhibitor. Enzyme activity was increased manyfold by the activator ornithine. Ornithine acted by increasing the affinity for Mg.ATP by a factor of 8 or more. Other activators were IMP, GMP, ITP, and GTP, IMP, like ornithine, increased the Michaelis constant for Mg.ATP. The activators ornithine, GMP, and IMP (but not GTP and ITP) completely reversed inhibition caused by pyrimidine nucleotides while increasing the inhibition caused by ADP and AMP.     

Adenine nucleotides and the adenylate kinase equilibrium in livers of foetal and newborn rats

1. Measurements of ATP, ADP and AMP concentrations in livers of rats that had been delivered by Caesarian section indicate a rapid shift from a low to a high [ATP]/[AMP] ratio. This change is consistent with the cessation of glycolysis and the initiation of gluconeogenesis at birth. 2. When newborn animals are exposed to a 100% nitrogen atmosphere the hepatic ATP concentration falls and AMP increases. 3. Calculations of the [ATP][AMP]/[ADP](2) ratio give values that are close to the equilibrium constant of adenylate kinase except when the ATP concentration is high. 4. This difference cannot be accounted for by the preferential binding of available Mg(2+) to ATP(4-) rather than ADP(3-). It is concluded that the relative proportions of adenine nucleotides at any level of phosphorylation are only partly regulated by adenylate kinase.     

噻唑衍生物WSF-SN-10激活AMPK的机制研究

目的:在噻唑衍生物中筛选新型AMPK激活剂并探究其激活AMPK的分子机制,以期找到副作用少的II型糖尿病治疗药物。方法:用14种噻唑衍生物处理293T细胞,用Western Blot筛选能显著提高AMPK磷酸化水平的化合物;用HPLC和FACS分别检测该化合物对细胞内AMP/ATP比值和Ca~(2+)浓度的影响,探究其激活AMPK的分子机制。结果:WSF-SN-10(2-(2-(6,6-二甲基双环[3,1,1]庚-2-亚基)肼基)-4-(4-氰基苯基)噻唑)为14种噻唑衍生物中活性最强的AMPK激活剂;20μM下WSF-SN-10激活AMPK的活性最强;用20μM WSF-SN-10处理293T细胞后,细胞内的AMP/ATP比值和LKB1的磷酸化水平分别上升至空白对照的1.94和3.04倍,同时Ca~(2+)浓度无明显变化,说明WSF-SN-10通过增加细胞内的AMP/ATP比值来激活AMPK。结论:噻唑衍生物WSF-SN-10能抑制细胞内的ATP合成来间接激活AMPK,是治疗II型糖尿病和肥胖症的潜在药物。     

Metformin activates AMP kinase through inhibition of AMP deaminase

The mechanism for how metformin activates AMPK (AMP-activated kinase) was investigated in isolated skeletal muscle L6 cells. A widely held notion is that inhibition of the mitochondrial respiratory chain is central to the mechanism. We also considered other proposals for metformin action. As metabolic pathway markers, we focused on glucose transport and fatty acid oxidation. We also confirmed metformin actions on other metabolic processes in L6 cells. Metformin stimulated both glucose transport and fatty acid oxidation. The mitochondrial Complex I inhibitor rotenone also stimulated glucose transport but it inhibited fatty acid oxidation, independently of metformin. The peroxynitrite generator 3-morpholinosydnonimine stimulated glucose transport, but inhibited fatty acid oxidation. Addition of the nitric oxide precursor arginine to cells did not affect glucose transport. These studies differentiate metformin from inhibition of mitochondrial respiration and from active nitrogen species. Knockdown of adenylate kinase also failed to affect metformin stimulation of glucose transport. Hence, any means of increase in ADP appears not to be involved in the metformin mechanism. Knockdown of LKB1, an upstream kinase and AMPK activator, did not affect metformin action. Having ruled out existing proposals, we suggest a new one: metformin might increase AMP through inhibition of AMP deaminase (AMPD). We found that metformin inhibited purified AMP deaminase activity. Furthermore, a known inhibitor of AMPD stimulated glucose uptake and fatty acid oxidation. Both metformin and the AMPD inhibitor suppressed ammonia accumulation by the cells. Knockdown of AMPD obviated metformin stimulation of glucose transport. We conclude that AMPD inhibition is the mechanism of metformin action.     

The Anti-diabetic drugs rosiglitazone and metformin stimulate AMP-activated protein kinase through distinct signaling pathways

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is activated within the cell in response to multiple stresses that increase the intracellular AMP:ATP ratio. Here we show that incubation of muscle cells with the thiazolidinedione, rosiglitazone, leads to a dramatic increase in this ratio with the concomitant activation of AMPK. This finding raises the possibility that a number of the beneficial effects of the thiazolidinediones could be mediated via activation of AMPK. Furthermore, we show that in addition to the classical activation pathway, AMPK can also be stimulated without changing the levels of adenine nucleotides. In muscle cells, both hyperosmotic stress and the anti-diabetic agent, metformin, activate AMPK in the absence of any increase in the AMP:ATP ratio. However, although activation is no longer dependent on this ratio, it still involves increased phosphorylation of threonine 172 within the catalytic (alpha) subunit. AMPK stimulation in response to hyperosmotic stress does not appear to involve phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate kinase, protein kinase C, mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase kinase, or p38 MAP kinase alpha or beta. Our results demonstrate that AMPK can be activated by at least two distinct signaling mechanisms and suggest that it may play a wider role in the cellular stress response than was previously understood.     

Adenylate kinase as a virulence factor of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Adenylate kinase (AK; ATP:AMP phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.4.3) is a ubiquitous enzyme that contributes to the homeostasis of adenine nucleotides in eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. AK catalyzes the reversible reaction Mg. ATP + AMP <--> Mg. ADP + ADP. In this study we show that AK secreted by the pathogenic strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa appears to play an important role in macrophage cell death. We purified and characterized AK from the growth medium of a cystic fibrosis isolate strain of P. aeruginosa 8821 and hyperproduced it as a fusion protein with glutathione S-transferase. We demonstrated enhanced macrophage cell death in the presence of both the secreted and recombinant purified AK and its substrates AMP plus ATP or ADP. These data suggested that AK converts its substrates to a mixture of AMP, ADP, and ATP, which are potentially more cytotoxic than ATP alone. In addition, we observed increased macrophage killing in the presence of AK and ATP alone. Since the presence of ATPase activity on the macrophages was confirmed in the present work, external macrophage-effluxed ATP is converted to ADP, which in turn can be transformed by AK into a cytotoxic mixture of three adenine nucleotides. Evidence is presented in this study that secreted AK was detected in macrophages during infection with P. aeruginosa. Thus, the possible role of secreted AK as a virulence factor is in producing and keeping an intact pool of toxic mixtures of AMP, ADP, and ATP, which allows P. aeruginosa to exert its full virulence.     

ATP-dependent H+ transport in synaptosomal membrane vesicles of the rat brain

H+ transport into synaptosomal membrane vesicles of the rat brain was stimulated by ATP and to a lesser extent by GTP, but not by ITP, CTP, UTP, ADP, AMP or beta, gamma-methylene ATP. ATP at concentrations up to 200 mM concentration-dependently stimulated the rate of H+ transport with a Km value of 0.6 mM, but at higher concentrations of this nucleotide the rate decreased. Other nucleotides such as CTP, UTP, GTP and AMP, or products of ATP hydrolysis i.e. ADP and Pi also reduced the ATP-stimulated H+ transport. The inhibition by GTP and ADP was not affected by the ATP concentration. These findings suggest that plasma membranes of nerve endings transport H+ from inside to outside of the cells utilizing energy from ATP hydrolysis, and that this transport is regulated by the intracellular concentration of nucleotides and Pi on sites other than those involved in substrate binding.     

ATP:AMP phosphotransferase activity, a new characteristic of Catharanthus roseus tonoplasts

The ATPase activity of Catharanthus roseus tonoplasts was examined using HPLC separation and quantification of adenine nucleotides. ATP seemed to be degraded into ADP and AMP by tonoplast vesicles. When ADP was the initial substrate, the appearance of AMP and concomitant ATP synthesis were observed; these reactions were inhibited by Ap⁵A. The apparent degradation of ATP into AMP was also inhibited by Ap⁵A. These results indicated that AMP arose from an ATP:AMP phosphotransferase activity and excluded the possibility of the hydrolysis of ADP into AMP by the tonoplast ATPase. AMP was degraded by the microsomal fraction from protoplasts or by the cytosol while the tonoplast vesicles did not hydrolyze it. This observation was used to assess the purity of tonoplasts.