Background and Purpose—Adenosine 5 -monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is an important sensor of energy balance. Stroke-induced AMPK activation is deleterious because both pharmacological inhibition and genetic deletion of AMPK are neuroprotective. Metformin is a known AMPK activator but reduces stroke incidence in clinical populations. We investigated the effect of acute and chronic...

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a cellular metabolic sensor, is essential in energy regulation and metabolism. Hepatocyte polarization during liver development and regeneration parallels increased metabolism. The current study investigates the effects of AMPK and its upstream activator LKB1 on polarity and bile canalicular network formation and maintenance in collagen sandwich cultures of ...

Endothelial dysfunction, with impaired bioavailability and/or bioactivity of the vasoprotective molecule, nitric oxide, appears to be a vital step in initiation atherosclerosis. Several studies have shown that dietary nitrate/nitrite can significant benefits on human cardiovascular homeostasis. Although serum nitrite concentrations reach micromolar levels, physiological significance normal tiss...

Recent studies suggest that the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) acts as a major energy sensor and regulator in adipose tissues. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of AMPK in nicotine-induced lipogenesis and lipolysis in 3T3L1 adipocytes. Exposure of 3T3L1 adipocytes to smoking-related concentrations of nicotine increased lipolysis and inhibited fatty acid synthase (FAS)...

Adiponectin (APN) exerts its metabolic regulation largely through AMP-dependent protein kinase (AMPK). However, the role of AMPK in APN's antiapoptotic effect in ischemic-reperfused (I/R) adult cardiomyocytes remains incompletely understood. The present study was designed to determine the involvement of AMPK in the antiapoptotic signaling of APN. Cardiomyocytes from adult male mice overexpressi...

Adipokinetic hormone (AKH) is the equivalent of mammalian glucagon, as it is the primary insect hormone that causes energy mobilization. In Drosophila, current knowledge of the mechanisms regulating AKH signaling is limited. Here, we report that AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is critical for normal AKH secretion during periods of metabolic challenges. Reduction of AMPK in AKH cells causes ...

Abnormal vascular smooth muscle (VSM) growth is central in the pathophysiology of vascular disease yet fully effective therapies to curb this growth are lacking. Recent findings from our lab and others support growth control of VSM by adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-based approaches including the metabolic sensor AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA). Molecul...

We examined the role of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in modulating the viability of cultured kidney proximal tubular cells subjected to metabolic stress induced by either dextrose deprivation, inhibition of glycolysis, or inhibition of mitochondrial respiration. We used BU.MPT cells, a conditionally immortalized kidney epithelial cell line derived from the proximal tubules of transgenic ...

Whether the well-known metabolic switch AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is involved in the insulin-sensitizing effect of calorie restriction (CR) is unclear. In this study, we investigated the role of AMPK in the insulin-sensitizing effect of CR in skeletal muscle. Wild-type (WT) and AMPK-α2(-/-) mice received ad libitum (AL) or CR (8 weeks at 60% of AL) feeding. CR increased the protein le...

BACKGROUND/AIMS T-lymphocyte activation and function critically depends on Ca(2+) signaling, which is regulated by store operated Ca(2+) entry (SOCE). Human and mouse T lymphocytes express AMP activated kinase AMPKα1, which is rapidly activated following elevation of cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)]i) by treatment of the cells with Ca(2+) ionophore or following inhibition of endosomal C...