Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.11.31 (AMP-activated protein kinase)
 13,065 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The obesity crisis in the United States has been associated with an alarming increase in the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MSX) disease cluster. Here we review evidence that the MSX reflects a failure of a system of intracellular lipid homeostasis that prevents lipotoxicity in the organs of overnourished individuals by confining the lipid overload to cells specifically designed to store large quantities of surplus calories, the white adipocytes. Normally, early in obesity, adipocytes increase leptin and adiponectin secretion, hormones that enhance oxidation of surplus liquids in nonadipose tissues by activating AMP-activated protein kinase and reducing the activity and expression of lipogenic enzymes. These events combine to lower malonyl coenzyme A. Deficiency of and/or unresponsiveness to leptin prevents these protective events and results in ectopic accumulation of lipids. Increased de novo ceramide formation is probably the most damaging lipid and is a cause of lipoapoptosis, abetted by a decline in tissue Bcl-2. Pancreatic beta-cells and myocardiocytes are cellular victims of the process, leading to non-insulin-dependent diabetes and lipotoxic cardiomyopathy. The MSX is particularly prevalent in visceral obesity, probably because visceral adipocytes make less leptin than sc adipocytes. Cushing's syndrome, the lipodystrophy associated with protease inhibitor therapy of AIDS, polycystic ovarian disease, as well as diet-induced visceral obesity, all have a high waist/hip ratio, and all exhibit MSX. Increased lipid content in the heart and skeletal muscle organs of such patients is now under study.
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PMID:Minireview: weapons of lean body mass destruction: the role of ectopic lipids in the metabolic syndrome. 1296 11

Although adequate nutrition is essential for optimal neural activity and survival, mild energy restriction may improve cognition and prolong longevity. Energy status is monitored by the cellular AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) system, whereas leptin regulates total energy balance. We investigated the roles of AMPK and leptin in cognition and survival under diet restriction (DR). Hippocampal AMPK activity increases with energy restriction. Modest activation (DR to 60%) induces neurogenesis and improves cognition. However, DR to 40% augmented AMPK activity, reduced cognition and catecholamines, and increased neural apoptosis and mortality. Leptin signaling is preserved only in DR to 60%, countering the effects of AMPK "overactivation" by preventing neuroapoptosis, restoring noradrenergic activity and behavioral performance, and increasing longevity. The balance between leptin and AMPK is crucial in determining neuronal fate, cognitive ability, and survival. Should these findings extend to Man, then controlled activation of AMPK may improve neurodegenerative diseases, and leptin may have a new role in treating stress-associated malnutrition.
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PMID:Nutritional status, cognition, and survival: a new role for leptin and AMP kinase. 1620 37

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is an energy sensing/signaling protein that, when activated, increases ATP production by stimulating glucose uptake and fatty acid oxidation while at the same time inhibiting ATP = consuming processes such as protein synthesis. Chronic activation of AMPK inhibits expression of lipogenic enzymes in the liver and enhances expression of mitochondrial oxidative enzymes in skeletal muscle. Deficiency of muscle LKB1, the upstream kinase of AMPK, results in greater fluctuation in energy charge during muscle contraction and decreased capacity for exercise at higher work rates. Because AMPK enhances both glucose uptake and fatty acid oxidation in skeletal muscle, it has become a target for prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity.
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PMID:Cellular energy sensing and signaling by AMP-activated protein kinase. 1765 79

Energy conservation directed at accelerating body fat recovery (or catch-up fat) contributes to obesity relapse after slimming and to excess fat gain during catch-up growth after malnutrition. To investigate the mechanisms underlying such thrifty metabolism for catch-up fat, we tested whether during refeeding after caloric restriction rats exhibiting catch-up fat driven by suppressed thermogenesis have diminished skeletal muscle phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) activity or AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling-two pathways required for hormone-induced thermogenesis in ex vivo muscle preparations. The results show that during isocaloric refeeding with a low-fat diet, at time points when body fat, circulating free fatty acids, and intramyocellular lipids in refed animals do not exceed those of controls, muscle insulin receptor substrate 1-associated PI3K activity (basal and in vivo insulin-stimulated) is lower than that in controls. Isocaloric refeeding with a high-fat diet, which exacerbates the suppression of thermogenesis, results in further reductions in muscle PI3K activity and in impaired AMPK phosphorylation (basal and in vivo leptin-stimulated). It is proposed that reduced skeletal muscle PI3K/AMPK signaling and suppressed thermogenesis are interdependent. Defective PI3K or AMPK signaling will reduce the rate of substrate cycling between de novo lipogenesis and lipid oxidation, leading to suppressed thermogenesis, which accelerates body fat recovery and furthermore sensitizes skeletal muscle to dietary fat-induced impairments in PI3K/AMPK signaling.
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PMID:Thrifty metabolism that favors fat storage after caloric restriction: a role for skeletal muscle phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase activity and AMP-activated protein kinase. 1792 59

Dietary restriction (DR) without malnutrition is widely regarded to be a universal mechanism for prolonging lifespan. It is generally believed that the benefits of DR arise from eating fewer calories (termed caloric restriction, CR). Here we argue that, rather than calories, the key determinant of the relationship between diet and longevity is the balance of protein to non-protein energy ingested. This ratio affects not only lifespan, but also total energy intake, metabolism, immunity and the likelihood of developing obesity and associated metabolic disorders. Among various possible mechanisms linking macronutrient balance to lifespan, the nexus between the TOR and AMPK signaling pathways is emerging as a central coordinator.
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PMID:Macronutrient balance and lifespan. 2015 61

Deficiency of adiponectin (APN), an adipocyte-derived vascular protective molecule, contributes to diabetic vascular injury. The current study determined whether obesity/hyperlipidemia may alter the vascular response to APN, and investigated the involved mechanisms and pathologic significance. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a regular or high-fat diet (HF) for 4-16 weeks. Circulating APN levels, aortic pAMPK/AMPK, peNOS/eNOS, and APN receptor expression levels were determined. Compared to time-matched animals fed control diet, plasma APN levels in HF-diet animals were significantly increased at 8 weeks, and rapidly declined thereafter. Despite unchanged or elevated circulating APN levels, phosphorylated AMPK and eNOS in vascular tissue were significantly reduced at all observed time points. Recombinant full-length APN (rAPN)-induced AMPK/eNOS phosphorylation and vasodilatation were significantly reduced in 16-week obese/hyperlipidemic aortic segments. Vascular APN receptor 1 (AdipoR1) and receptor 2 (AdipoR2) expression were significantly reduced 16 weeks after HF-diet. Pre-incubation of rAPN with obese/hyperlipidemic plasma, but not with normal plasma, significantly reduced its AMPK and eNOS activation effect, and blunted its protective effect against TNFalpha-induced HUVEC apoptosis. This study demonstrated for the first time that obesity/hyperlipidemia reduces vascular responsiveness to APN. Modification/inactivation of APN by unidentified factors present in obese/hyperlipidemic plasma, decreased vascular AdipoR1/R2 expression, and reduced circulating APN levels contribute to reduced vascular responsiveness to APN at different stages of the obese condition. Reduced APN bioactivity allows unmitigated TNFalpha pro-apoptotic and pro-inflammatory actions, contributing to vascular injury in obesity/hyperlipidemia.
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PMID:Reduced vascular responsiveness to adiponectin in hyperlipidemic rats--mechanisms and significance. 2030 76

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a genetic disorder associated with mTOR over-activation and disruption of MAPK, PI3K and AMPK signalling. Children with TSC have significant deficits on neuropsychological attention tasks, particularly dual tasking. Here we investigated attentional skills and related behaviours in daily life in normally intelligent adults with TSC and matched controls using the Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA-Ch) and the Attention-Deficit Scales for Adults (ADSA). No group differences were demonstrated on selective or sustained attention tasks carried out alone. However, adults with TSC performed significantly worse when these tasks were combined in a cross-modal dual task condition. On the ADSA the TSC group had significantly worse scores on several subscales (attention/concentration, behaviour/disorganization, academic and emotional behaviours) compared to controls and these correlated with dual task performance, indicating a clear impact of dual task deficits on attention-related behaviours in daily life. The presence or absence of epilepsy did not influence dual task performance or attention-deficits in daily life. Taken together with similar findings in children, results suggest that dual task difficulties are a core feature of the neuropsychological phenotype of TSC.
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PMID:Neuropsychological attention skills and related behaviours in adults with tuberous sclerosis complex. 2119 42

Reduction of nutrient intake without malnutrition positively influences lifespan and healthspan from yeast to mice and exerts some beneficial effects also in humans. The AMPK-FoxO axis is one of the evolutionarily conserved nutrient-sensing pathways, and the FOXO3A locus is associated with human longevity. Interestingly, FoxO3A has been reported to be also a mitochondrial protein in mammalian cells and tissues. Here we report that glucose restriction triggers FoxO3A accumulation into mitochondria of fibroblasts and skeletal myotubes in an AMPK-dependent manner. A low-glucose regimen induces the formation of a protein complex containing FoxO3A, SIRT3, and mitochondrial RNA polymerase (mtRNAPol) at mitochondrial DNA-regulatory regions causing activation of the mitochondrial genome and a subsequent increase in mitochondrial respiration. Consistently, mitochondrial transcription increases in skeletal muscle of fasted mice, with a mitochondrial DNA-bound FoxO3A/SIRT3/mtRNAPol complex detectable also in vivo. Our results unveil a mitochondrial arm of the AMPK-FoxO3A axis acting as a recovery mechanism to sustain energy metabolism upon nutrient restriction.
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PMID:A novel AMPK-dependent FoxO3A-SIRT3 intramitochondrial complex sensing glucose levels. 2328 1

Metformin is not only a widely used oral antidiabetic drug, which acts as an insulin sensitizer and suppressor of hepatic gluconeogenesis, but it also exhibits antitumor properties. Besides, it has been utilized in the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) for infertile women with glucose intolerance and as a component of combination therapy to reduce early (first trimester) pregnancy loss or spontaneous abortion (SAB). Based on recent studies demonstrating its beneficial effects on mothers and the fetus, metformin is even recommended for later stages of pregnancy. Probing into the mechanism of action revealed that it can activate a stress modulatory pathway, none other than the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) via LKB 1. It is well accepted that AMPK signaling plays a crucial role during implantation by combating stress in multiple ways. Stress factors commonly encountered during pregnancy are malnutrition, diabetes, and hypoxia, which may result in SABs or other complications. For instance, the elevated levels of insulin, which are a typical characteristic of hyperinsulinemic, obese, or PCOS patients, can impair the development of the blastocyst and the preimplantation embryo. Further, a severe hypoxic environment prompts early and untimely differentiation of the embryonic cells leading to abnormal growth and development. Therefore, the modulation of stress-related pathways could be pivotal in ameliorating such stress responses during implantation. Here we hypothesize a putative noncanonical pathway underpinning the role of metformin in high-risk pregnancies to counteract stress by recreating an in vitro replica of human implantation, engaging embryonic stem cells, trophoblast stem cells, and endometrial stromal cells in a three-dimensional scaffold.
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PMID:Diverse roles of metformin during peri-implantation development: revisiting novel molecular mechanisms underlying clinical implications. 2378 28

Calorie restriction (CR) is a dietary regime based on low calorie intake. CR without malnutrition extends lifespan in a wide range of organisms from yeast to rodents, and CR can prevent and delay the onset of age-related functional decline and diseases in human and non-human primates. CR is a safe and effective intervention to reduce vascular risk factors in humans. In recent years, studies in rodents have provided mechanistic insights into the beneficial effects of CR on vascular homeostasis, including reduced oxidative stress, enhanced nitric oxide (NO) bioactivity, and decreased inflammation. A number of important molecules, including sirtuins, AMP-activated protein kinase, mammalian targets of rapamycin, endothelial nitric oxidase and their regulatory pathways are involved in the maintenance of vascular homeostasis. Evidence has shown that these pathways are responsible for many aspects of CR's effects, and that they may also mediate the effects of CR on vasculature.
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PMID:Mechanistic perspectives of calorie restriction on vascular homeostasis. 2510 46


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