scholarly journals Direct AMPK Activation Corrects NASH in Rodents Through Metabolic Effects and Direct Action on Inflammation and Fibrogenesis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascale Gluais‐Dagorn ◽  
Marc Foretz ◽  
Gregory R. Steinberg ◽  
Battsetseg Batchuluun ◽  
Anna Zawistowska‐Deniziak ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Khoa D.A Nguyen ◽  
Khanh V Doan ◽  

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a cellular energy sensor which plays a crucial role in regulation of whole-body energy homeostasis. Activation of AMPK signaling results in favorable effects on mitochondrial function, autophagy, glucose/lipid metabolism, and insulin sensitivity, making it an important therapeutic target in treatment/prevention of metabolic disorders and cancer. Recently, pharmacological studies of natural phenolic compounds indicated that the benefits on metabolic health of these phytochemicals are not only related to their protogenic antioxidant property but also to their AMPK-activating potential. Due to their diverse structures, identification of phenolic compound molecules which have potential to target the AMPK activation for beneficial metabolic effects may be promising in order to develop novel therapeutics in the prevention and/or treatment of metabolic disorders. In this minireview, we summarize beneficial metabolic outcomes of AMPK activation and discuss the capability of natural polyphenols to activate the AMPK pathway focusing on the phenolic acids as potential lead compounds.


2013 ◽  
Vol 305 (12) ◽  
pp. C1214-C1222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Licht Miyamoto ◽  
Tatsuro Egawa ◽  
Rieko Oshima ◽  
Eriko Kurogi ◽  
Yosuke Tomida ◽  
...  

Physical exercise has potent therapeutic and preventive effects against metabolic disorders. A number of studies have suggested that 5′-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) plays a pivotal role in regulating carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in contracting skeletal muscles, while several genetically manipulated animal models revealed the significance of AMPK-independent pathways. To elucidate significance of AMPK and AMPK-independent signals in contracting skeletal muscles, we conducted a metabolomic analysis that compared the metabolic effects of 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-β-d-ribonucleoside (AICAR) stimulation with the electrical contraction ex vivo in isolated rat epitrochlearis muscles, in which both α1- and α2-isoforms of AMPK and glucose uptake were equally activated. The metabolomic analysis using capillary electrophoresis time-of-flight mass spectrometry detected 184 peaks and successfully annotated 132 small molecules. AICAR stimulation exhibited high similarity to the electrical contraction in overall metabolites. Principal component analysis (PCA) demonstrated that the major principal component characterized common effects whereas the minor principal component distinguished the difference. PCA and a factor analysis suggested a substantial change in redox status as a result of AMPK activation. We also found a decrease in reduced glutathione levels in both AICAR-stimulated and contracting muscles. The muscle contraction-evoked influences related to the metabolism of amino acids, in particular, aspartate, alanine, or lysine, are supposed to be independent of AMPK activation. Our results substantiate the significance of AMPK activation in contracting skeletal muscles and provide novel evidence that AICAR stimulation closely mimics the metabolomic changes in the contracting skeletal muscles.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 4140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Giammanco ◽  
Carlo Maria Di Liegro ◽  
Gabriella Schiera ◽  
Italia Di Liegro

Since the realization that the cellular homologs of a gene found in the retrovirus that contributes to erythroblastosis in birds (v-erbA), i.e. the proto-oncogene c-erbA encodes the nuclear receptors for thyroid hormones (THs), most of the interest for THs focalized on their ability to control gene transcription. It was found, indeed, that, by regulating gene expression in many tissues, these hormones could mediate critical events both in development and in adult organisms. Among their effects, much attention was given to their ability to increase energy expenditure, and they were early proposed as anti-obesity drugs. However, their clinical use has been strongly challenged by the concomitant onset of toxic effects, especially on the heart. Notably, it has been clearly demonstrated that, besides their direct action on transcription (genomic effects), THs also have non-genomic effects, mediated by cell membrane and/or mitochondrial binding sites, and sometimes triggered by their endogenous catabolites. Among these latter molecules, 3,5-diiodo-L-thyronine (3,5-T2) has been attracting increasing interest because some of its metabolic effects are similar to those induced by T3, but it seems to be safer. The main target of 3,5-T2 appears to be the mitochondria, and it has been hypothesized that, by acting mainly on mitochondrial function and oxidative stress, 3,5-T2 might prevent and revert tissue damages and hepatic steatosis induced by a hyper-lipid diet, while concomitantly reducing the circulating levels of low density lipoproteins (LDL) and triglycerides. Besides a summary concerning general metabolism of THs, as well as their genomic and non-genomic effects, herein we will discuss resistance to THs and the possible mechanisms of action of 3,5-T2, also in relation to its possible clinical use as a drug.


2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Li ◽  
Jun Song ◽  
Heidi L. Weiss ◽  
Todd Weiss ◽  
Courtney M. Townsend ◽  
...  

Abstract AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a critical fuel-sensing enzyme, regulates the metabolic effects of various hormones. Neurotensin (NT) is a 13-amino acid peptide predominantly localized in enteroendocrine cells of the small bowel and released by fat ingestion. Increased fasting plasma levels of pro-NT (a stable NT precursor fragment produced in equimolar amounts relative to NT) are associated with an increased risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and mortality; however, the mechanisms regulating NT release are not fully defined. We previously reported that inhibition of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) complex 1 (mTORC1) increases NT secretion and gene expression through activation of the MEK/ERK pathway. Here, we show that activation of AMPK increases NT secretion from endocrine cell lines (BON and QGP-1) and isolated mouse crypt cells enriched for NT-positive cells. In addition, plasma levels of NT increase in mice treated with 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide riboside, a pharmacologic AMPK activator. Small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of AMPKα decrease, whereas overexpression of the subunit significantly enhances, NT secretion from BON cells treated with AMPK activators or oleic acid. Similarly, small interfering RNA knockdown of the upstream AMPK kinases, liver kinase B1 and Ca2+ calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase 2, also attenuate NT release and AMPK phosphorylation. Moreover, AMPK activation increases NT secretion through inhibition of mTORC1 signaling. Together, our findings show that AMPK activation enhances NT release through inhibition of mTORC1 signaling, thus demonstrating an important cross talk regulation for NT secretion.


2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 620-629 ◽  
Author(s):  
Su Jin Kim ◽  
Hong Min Kim ◽  
Eun Soo Lee ◽  
Nami Kim ◽  
Jung Ok Lee ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Aguilar-Recarte ◽  
Emma Barroso ◽  
Javier Pizarro-Delgado ◽  
Lucía Peña ◽  
Maria Ruart ◽  
...  

Abstract Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor β/δ(PPARβ/δ) activates AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and plays a crucial role in glucose and lipid metabolism. Here, we examined whether the beneficial effects of PPARβ/δ activation depended on growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15), a stress response cytokine that regulates energy metabolism. Pharmacological PPARβ/δ activation increased GDF15 levels and ameliorated glucose intolerance, fatty acid oxidation, endoplasmic reticulum stress, inflammation and activated AMPK in HFD-fed mice, whereas these effects were abrogated by the injection of a GDF15 neutralizing antibody and in Gdf15-/- mice. The AMPK-p53 pathway was involved in the PPARβ/δ-mediated increase in GDF15, which in turn activated again AMPK. Finally, Gdf15-/- mice showed reduced AMPK activation in skeletal muscle, whereas GDF15 administration resulted in AMPK activation in this organ. Collectively, these data reveal a novel mechanism by which PPARβ/δ activation increases the levels of GDF15 via AMPK and p53, which in turn mediates the metabolic effects of PPARβ/δ by sustaining AMPK activation.


2006 ◽  
Vol 291 (1) ◽  
pp. H239-H250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luc Bertrand ◽  
Audrey Ginion ◽  
Christophe Beauloye ◽  
Alexandre D. Hebert ◽  
Bruno Guigas ◽  
...  

Diabetic hearts are known to be more susceptible to ischemic disease. Biguanides, like metformin, are known antidiabetic drugs that lower blood glucose concentrations by decreasing hepatic glucose production and increasing glucose disposal in muscle. Part of these metabolic effects is thought to be mediated by the activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). In this work, we studied the relationship between AMPK activation and glucose uptake stimulation by biguanides and oligomycin, another AMPK activator, in both insulin-sensitive and insulin-resistant cardiomyocytes. In insulin-sensitive cardiomyocytes, insulin, biguanides and oligomycin were able to stimulate glucose uptake with the same efficiency. Stimulation of glucose uptake by insulin or biguanides was correlated to protein kinase B (PKB) or AMPK activation, respectively, and were additive. In insulin-resistant cardiomyocytes, where insulin stimulation of glucose uptake was greatly reduced, biguanides or oligomycin, in the absence of insulin, induced a higher stimulation of glucose uptake than that obtained in insulin-sensitive cells. This stimulation was correlated with the activation of both AMPK and PKB and was sensitive to the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/PKB pathway inhibitors. Finally, an adenoviral-mediated expression of a constitutively active form of AMPK increased both PKB phosphorylation and glucose uptake in insulin-resistant cardiomyocytes. We concluded that AMPK activators, like biguanides and oligomycin, are able to restore glucose uptake stimulation, in the absence of insulin, in insulin-resistant cardiomyocytes via the additive activation of AMPK and PKB. Our results suggest that AMPK activation could restore normal glucose metabolism in diabetic hearts and could be a potential therapeutic approach to treat insulin resistance.


2018 ◽  
Vol 315 (5) ◽  
pp. E1075-E1085 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franziska Kopietz ◽  
Christine Berggreen ◽  
Sara Larsson ◽  
Johanna Säll ◽  
Mikael Ekelund ◽  
...  

Activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is considered an attractive strategy for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Favorable metabolic effects of AMPK activation are mainly observed in skeletal muscle and liver tissue, whereas the effects in human adipose tissue are only poorly understood. Previous studies, which largely employed the AMPK activator 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-β-d-ribofuranoside (AICAR), suggest an antilipolytic role of AMPK in adipocytes. The aim of this work was to reinvestigate the role of AMPK in the regulation of lipolysis, using the novel allosteric small-molecule AMPK activators A-769662 and 991, with a focus on human adipocytes. For this purpose, human primary subcutaneous adipocytes were treated with A-769662, 991, or AICAR, as a control, before being stimulated with isoproterenol. AMPK activity status, glycerol release, and the phosphorylation of hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), a key regulator of lipolysis, were then monitored. Our results show that both A-769662 and 991 activated AMPK to a level that was similar to, or greater than, that induced by AICAR. In contrast to AICAR, which as expected was antilipolytic, neither A-769662 nor 991 affected lipolysis in human adipocytes, although 991 treatment led to altered HSL phosphorylation. Furthermore, we suggest that HSL Ser660 is an important regulator of lipolytic activity in human adipocytes. These data suggest that the antilipolytic effect observed with AICAR in previous studies is, at least to some extent, AMPK independent.


2019 ◽  
Vol 476 (24) ◽  
pp. 3687-3704 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aphrodite T. Choumessi ◽  
Manuel Johanns ◽  
Claire Beaufay ◽  
Marie-France Herent ◽  
Vincent Stroobant ◽  
...  

Root extracts of a Cameroon medicinal plant, Dorstenia psilurus, were purified by screening for AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation in incubated mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs). Two isoprenylated flavones that activated AMPK were isolated. Compound 1 was identified as artelasticin by high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and 2D-NMR while its structural isomer, compound 2, was isolated for the first time and differed only by the position of one double bond on one isoprenyl substituent. Treatment of MEFs with purified compound 1 or compound 2 led to rapid and robust AMPK activation at low micromolar concentrations and increased the intracellular AMP:ATP ratio. In oxygen consumption experiments on isolated rat liver mitochondria, compound 1 and compound 2 inhibited complex II of the electron transport chain and in freeze–thawed mitochondria succinate dehydrogenase was inhibited. In incubated rat skeletal muscles, both compounds activated AMPK and stimulated glucose uptake. Moreover, these effects were lost in muscles pre-incubated with AMPK inhibitor SBI-0206965, suggesting AMPK dependency. Incubation of mouse hepatocytes with compound 1 or compound 2 led to AMPK activation, but glucose production was decreased in hepatocytes from both wild-type and AMPKβ1−/− mice, suggesting that this effect was not AMPK-dependent. However, when administered intraperitoneally to high-fat diet-induced insulin-resistant mice, compound 1 and compound 2 had blood glucose-lowering effects. In addition, compound 1 and compound 2 reduced the viability of several human cancer cells in culture. The flavonoids we have identified could be a starting point for the development of new drugs to treat type 2 diabetes.


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