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PubMed1989

Glycolysis in P-glycoprotein-overexpressing human tumor cell lines. Effects of resistance-modifying agents.

We show that drugs, such as verapamil, which reverse multidrug resistance (MDR), in P-glycoprotein-overexpressing tumor cells, increased the rate of lactate production in four human MDR cell lines, but not in the parent, sensitive cell lines. The effect on glycolytic rate was maximal at a medium concentration of 2 microM verapamil. The glycolytic rate in sensitive (A2780) and MDR 2780AD) cells showed the same pH dependence, but the effect of verapamil was seen only in 2780AD cells at all pH values investigated (6.6, 7.4 and 8.2). A series of drugs such as nigericin, oligomycin, amiloride and monensin had similar effects in the two cells. Phorbol myristate acetate increased lactate formation in neither cell line. Verapamil induced an extra amount of ATP consumption in P-glycoprotein-expressing 2780AD cells of approx. 25 pmol/s per 10(6) cells, which was estimated to be about 10% of cellular energy turnover.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗
PubMed1994

Composition and Distribution of Adenylates in Soybean (Glycine max L.) Nodule Tissue.

Adenylates (ATP, ADP, and AMP) may play a central role in the regulation of the O2-limited C and N metabolism of soybean nodules. To be able to interpret measurements of adenylate levels in whole nodules and to appreciate the significance of observed changes in adenylates associated with changes in O2-limited metabolism, methods were developed for measuring in vivo levels of adenylate pools in the cortex, plant central zone, and bacteroid fractions of soybean (Glycine max L. Merr cv Maple Arrow x Bradyrhizobium japonicum strain USDA 16) nodules. Intact nodulated roots were either frozen in situ by flushing with prechilled Freon-113(-156[deg]C) or by rapidly (<1 s) uprooting plants and plunging them into liquid N2. The adenylate energy charge (AEC = [ATP + 0.5 x ADP]/[ATP + ADP + AMP]) of whole-nodule tissue (0.65 [plus or minus] 0.01, n = 4) was low compared to that of subtending roots (0.80 [plus or minus] 0.03, n = 4), a finding indicative of hypoxic metabolism in nodules. The cortex and central zone tissues were dissected apart in lyophilized nodules, and AEC values were 0.84 [plus or minus] 0.04 and 0.61 [plus or minus] 0.03, respectively. Although the total adenylate pool in the lyophilized nodules was only 41% of that measured in hydrated tissues, the AEC values were similar, and the lyophilized nodules were assumed to provide useful material for assessing adenylate distribution. The nodule cortex contained 4.4% of whole-nodule adenylates, with 95.6% being located in the central zone. Aqueous fractionation of bacteroids from the plant fraction of whole nodules and the use of marker enzymes or compounds to correct for recovery of bacteroids and cross-contamination of the bacteroid and plant fractions resulted in estimates that 36.2% of the total adenylate pool was in bacteroids, and 59.4% was in the plant fraction of the central zone. These are the first quantitative assessments of adenylate distribution in the plant and bacteroid fractions of legume nodules. These estimates were combined with theoretical calculations of rates of ATP consumption in the cortex (9.5 nmol g-1 fresh weight of nodule s-1), plant central zone (38 nmol g-1 fresh weight of nodule s-1), and bacteroids (62 nmol g-1 fresh weight of nodule s-1) of soybean nodules to estimate the time constants for turnover of the total adenylate pool and the ATP pool within each nodule fraction. The low values for time constant (1.6-5.8 s for total adenylate, 0.9-2.5 s for ATP only) in each fraction reflect the high metabolic activity of soybean nodules and provide a background for further studies of the role of adenylates in O2-limited nodule metabolism.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

The sarcomeric control of energy conversion.

The Frank-Starling Law, Fenn Effect, and Suga's suggestions of cardiac muscle constant contractile efficiency establish the dependence of cardiac mechanics and energetics on the loading conditions. Consistent with these observations, this review suggests that the sarcomere control of contraction consists of two dominant feedbacks: (1) a cooperativity mechanism (positive feedback), whereby the number of force-generating cross-bridges (XBs) determines the affinity of calcium binding to the troponin regulatory protein; and (2) a mechanical (negative) feedback, whereby the filament shortening velocity affects the rate of XB turnover from the force to the non-force generating conformation. The study explains the roles of these feedbacks in providing the adaptive control of energy consumption by the loading conditions and validates the dependence of the cooperativity mechanism on the number of strong XBs. The cooperativity mechanism regulates XB recruitment. It explains the cardiac force-length calcium relationship, the related Frank-Starling Law of the heart, and the adaptive control of new XB recruitment and the associated adenosine triphosphate (ATP) consumption. The mechanical feedback explains the force-velocity relationship and the constant and high-contractile efficiency. These mechanisms were validated by testing the force responses to large amplitude (100 nm/sarcomere) sarcomere length (SL) oscillations, in intact tetanized trabeculae (utilizing 30 microM cyclopiazonic). The force responses to large-length oscillations lag behind the imposed oscillations at low extracellular calcium concentration ([Ca(2+)](0)) and slow frequencies (<4 Hz, 25 degrees C), yielding counterclockwise hystereses in the force-length plane. The force was higher during shortening than during lengthening. The area within these hystereses corresponds to the external work generated from new XB recruitment during each oscillation, and it is determined by the delay in the force response. Characterization of the delayed response and its dependence on the SL, force, and calcium allows identification of the regulation of XB recruitment. The direct dependence of the phase on force indicates that XB recruitment is determined directly by the force (i.e., the number of strong XBs) and indirectly by SL or calcium. The suggested feedbacks determine cardiac energetics: 1) the constant and high contractile efficiency is an intrinsic property of the single XB, due to the mechanical feedback; and 2) the XBs are the myocyte sensors that modulate XB recruitment in response to length and load changes through the cooperativity mechanism.

Electrophysiology↗
PubMed1998

Alteration of the ADP/ATP translocase isoform pattern improves ATP expenditure in developing rat liver mitochondria.

The expression of adenine nucleotide translocase isoforms (AAC) during perinatal development of the rat was studied by measuring mRNA transcript levels of AAC1 and AAC2 genes in liver, heart and brain tissue. In contrast to heart and brain, AAC1 mRNA is not present in adult liver tissue, but is transiently expressed around birth. AAC1 expression in liver did not respond to cold stress (examined with adult rats), therefore a possible involvement of AAC1 in the liver thermogenesis of newborns is excluded. Measurement of the [3H]ADP uptake by liver mitochondria revealed that the molecular activity of the AAC protein was significantly higher in mitochondria from 4-day-old neonates compared with adults. We suggest that the transient AAC1 gene expression in the perinatal liver helps to accommodate the mitochondrial ATP supply to the increased cytosolic ATP consumption initiated at birth.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed2002

Forces required of kinesin during processive transport through cytoplasm.

The purpose of this paper is to deduce whether the maximum force, steplike movement, and rate of ATP consumption of kinesin, as measured in buffer, are sufficient for the task of fast transport of vesicles in cells. Our results show that moving a 200-nm vesicle in viscoelastic COS7 cytoplasm, with the same steps as observed for kinesin-driven beads in buffer, required a maximum force of 16 pN and work per step of 1 +/- 0.7 ATP, if the drag force was assumed to decrease to zero between steps. In buffer, kinesin can develop a force of 6-7 pN while consuming 1 ATP/step, comparable to the required values. As an alternative to assuming that the force vanishes between steps, the measured COS7 viscoelasticity was extrapolated to zero frequency by a numerical fit. The force required to move the bead then exceeded 75 pN at all times and peaked briefly to 92 pN, well beyond the measured capabilities of a single kinesin in buffer. The work per step increased to 7 +/- 5 ATP, greatly exceeding the energy available to a single motor.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1996

Suppression of creatine kinase-catalyzed phosphotransfer results in increased phosphoryl transfer by adenylate kinase in intact skeletal muscle.

The kinetics of creatine kinase (CK) and adenylate kinase (AK) activities were monitored in intact diaphragm muscle by 18O phosphoryl oxygen exchange to assess whether these two phosphotransferases provide an interrelated function integral to high energy phosphoryl metabolism. This possibility was examined by quantitating the net rates of CK- and AK-catalyzed phosphoryl transfer in comparison to the total cellular ATP metabolic rate when CK activity in the intact diaphragm muscle was progressively inhibited by 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene. In noncontracting muscle from untreated rats, net rates of CK- and AK-catalyzed phosphotransfer were equivalent to 88 and 7%, respectively, of the total ATP metabolic rate. These results were compared with reported 31P NMR analyses of total creatine phosphate flux to estimate that each creatine phosphate molecule produced undergoes about 50 unidirectional CK-catalyzed phosphotransfers in transit to an ATP consumption site in the intact muscles. Graded inhibition by 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene of intracellular CK activity by up to 98% resulted in a progressive shift in phosphotransferase catalysis from the CK to the AK system; the sum of the net rates of phosphoryl transfer by combining the increasing AK and decreasing CK activities continued to approximate the total cellular ATP metabolic rate. These results indicate that in diaphragm muscle CK and AK operate as interrelated cellular high energy phosphoryl transfer systems through which the majority of newly generated ATP is processed prior to its utilization.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Non-equivalence of the sites of yeast phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase during catalysis.

Yeast phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase, an enzyme with an alpha2beta2 structure, has two active sites for phenylalanine, tRNAphe, phenylalanyladenylate and phenylalanyl-tRNAphe. Determination of phenylalanine binding properties to the free enzyme by equilibrium dialysis shows that only one mole of amino acid binds per mole of enzyme, i.e. absolute negative cooperativity. Binding of the amino acid in the presence of tRNA or of ATP and PPi unmasks the second phenylalanine binding site. The difference between the affinities at the tight and loose binding sites under such conditions is about 10--15. Titration of phenylalanyladenylate sites by the burst of ATP consumption shows the formation of a (enzyme-phenylalanyladenylate)2 complex in the presence of pyrophosphatase; however, the two sites differ widely in their affinity as shown by dialysis experiments. Measurements of hydrolysis rates of enzyme-bound phenylalanyladenylate suggests that when only the high-affinity adenylate site is occupied, the other protomer can still bind phenylalanine and ATP (in the presence of phenylalanine). Two moles of Phe-tRNAphe bind to the enzyme with a very high affinity (Kd less than 48 nM). The presence of millimolar concentrations of ATP, phenylalanine and pyrophosphate triggers negative cooperativity and under these conditions only one mole of Phe-tRNAphe is bound per mole of enzyme with a Kd value of 0.15 muM. The present results give support to interprotomer catalytic cooperativity in the mechanism of action of yeast phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed2002

Endothelial cells maintain a reduced redox environment even as mitochondrial function declines.

Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) are an endothelial model of replicative senescence. Oxidative stress, possibly due to dysfunctional mitochondria, is believed to play a key role in replicative senescence and atherosclerosis, an age-related vascular disease. In this study, we determined the effect of cell division on genomic instability, mitochondrial function, and redox status in HUVECs that were able to replicate for approximately 60 cumulative population doublings (CPD). After 20 CPD, the nuclear genome deteriorated and the protein content of the cell population increased. This indicated an increase in cell size, which was accompanied by an increase in oxygen consumption, ATP production, and mitochondrial genome copy number and approximately 10% increase in mitochondrial mass. The antioxidant capacity increased, as seen by an increase in reduced glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, GSSG reductase, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. However, by CPD 52, the latter two enzymes decreased, as well as the ratio of mitochondrial-to-nuclear genome copies, the mitochondrial mass, and the oxygen consumption per milligram of protein. Our results signify that HUVECs maintain a highly reducing (GSH) environment as they replicate despite genomic instability and loss of mitochondrial function.

Cells, Cultured↗
PubMed1998

Adenylate kinase: kinetic behavior in intact cells indicates it is integral to multiple cellular processes.

Monitoring the kinetic behavior of adenylate kinase (AK) and creatine kinase (CK) in intact cells by 18O-phosphoryl oxygen exchange analysis has provided new perspectives from which to more fully define the involvement of these phosphotransferases in cellular bioenergetics. A primary function attributable to both AK and CK is their apparent capability to couple ATP utilization with its generation by glycolytic and/or oxidative processes depending on cell metabolic status. This is evidenced by the observation that the sum of the net AK- plus CK-catalyzed phosphoryl transfer is equivalent to about 95% of the total ATP metabolic flux in non-contracting rat diaphragm; under basal conditions almost every newly generated ATP molecule appears to be processed by one or the other of these phosphotransferases prior to its utilization. Although CK accounts for the transfer of a majority of the ATP molecules generated/consumed in the basal state there is a progressive, apparently compensatory, shift in phosphotransfer catalysis from the CK to the AK system with increasing muscle contraction or graded chemical inhibition of CK activity. AK and CK appear therefore to provide similar and interrelated functions. Evidence that high energy phosphoryl transfer in some cell types or metabolic states can also be provided by specific nucleoside mono- and diphosphate kinases and by the phosphotransfer capability inherent to the glycolytic system has been obtained. Measurements by 18O-exchange analyses of net AK- and CK-catalyzed phosphoryl transfer in conjunction with 31P NMR analyses of total unidirectional phosphoryl flux show that each new energy-bearing molecule CK or AK generates subsequently undergoes about 50 or more unidirectional CK-or AK-catalyzed phosphotransfers en route to an ATP consumption site in intact muscle. This evidence of multiple enzyme catalyzed exchanges coincides with the mechanism of vectorial ligand conduction suggested for accomplishing intracellular high energy phosphoryl transfer by the AK and CK systems. AK-catalyzed phosphotransfer also appears to be integral to the transduction of metabolic signals influencing the operation of ion channels regulated by adenine nucleotides such as ATP-inhibitable K+ channels in insulin secreting cells; transition from the ATP to ADP liganded states closely coincides with the rate AK-catalyzes phosphotransfer transforming ATP (+AMP) to (2)ADP.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1998

Response time of myocardial oxygen consumption to cardiac work jumps at 28 degrees C varies with exogenous carbon substrate.

In isolated rabbit heart perfused with hemoglobin-free Tyrode's solution at 28 degrees C the response time of myocardial oxidative phosphorylation to steps in heart rate, which is about 8 s, is decreased by about 2.5 s when lactate of pyruvate are given as exogenous carbon substrate. A hypothesis that may explain the decrease in response times is that glycolytic buffering in compartments near the energy consuming ATPases delays the transport of the energetic signal between sites of ATP consumption and the mitochondria. Pyruvate inhibits this glycolytic buffering, which would explain the faster response time. Whatever the mechanism may be, the type of exogenous substrate available to the heart has a major effect on the speed of response of oxidative phosphorylation to quick changes in cardiac workload.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Modified Michaelis law in a two-state ratchet model for a molecular motor as a function of diffusion constant.

We study transport properties and energetics of ratchets, which are driven by a chemical reaction between two states with different diffusion constants. We find that velocity curves show very sensitive dependence on the ratio of diffusion constants, whereas the rate of Adenosinetriphosphate (ATP) consumption curves depends smoothly on it. Modified Michaelis-Menten law shows us that identical values of Michaelis-Menten constant K(M) can be obtained independently from both curves. We obtain force-velocity curves for different values of a ratio of diffusion constants. We find that the Michaelis-Menten constant increases with the increasing external load for the "active site" model where the ATP assisted transition occurs at the localized region near the minimum of the ratchet potential, whereas it decreases with the increasing load for the "delocalized model."

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed2004

An in silico study of energy metabolism in cardiac excitation-contraction coupling.

The heart produces and uses ATP at a high rate. Each step involved in ATP metabolism has been extensively studied. However, functional coupling between ATP production and membrane excitation-contraction coupling, which is the main ATP consumption process, is not yet fully understood because of complicated interactions and the lack of quantitative data obtained in vivo. Computer simulation is a powerful tool for integrating experimental data and for solving their complicated interactions. To investigate the mechanisms underlying cardiac excitation-contraction-energy metabolism coupling, we have developed a computer model of cardiac excitation-contraction coupling (Kyoto model) that includes the major processes of ATP production, such as oxidative phosphorylation that was originally developed for skeletal muscle by Korzeniewski and Zoladz [Biophys Chem 92: 17-34, 2001], creatine kinase, and adenylate kinase. In this review, we briefly summarize cardiac energy metabolism and discuss the regulation of mitochondrial ATP synthesis, using the Kyoto model.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1995

A hierarchy of ATP-consuming processes in mammalian cells.

The rates of different ATP-consuming reactions were measured in concanavalin A-stimulated thymocytes, a model system in which more than 80% of the ATP consumption can be accounted for. There was a clear hierarchy of the responses of different energy-consuming reactions to changes in energy supply: pathways of macromolecule biosynthesis (protein synthesis and RNA/DNA synthesis) were most sensitive to energy supply, followed by sodium cycling and then calcium cycling across the plasma membrane. Mitochondrial proton leak was the least sensitive to energy supply. Control analysis was used to quantify the relative control over ATP production exerted by the individual groups of ATP-consuming reactions. Control was widely shared; no block of reactions had more than one-third of the control. A fuller control analysis showed that there appeared to be a hierarchy of control over the flux through ATP: protein synthesis > RNA/DNA synthesis and substrate oxidation > Na+ cycling and Ca2+ cycling > other ATP consumers and mitochondrial proton leak. Control analysis also indicated that there was significant control over the rates of individual ATP consumers by energy supply. Each ATP consumer had strong control over its own rate but very little control over the rates of the other ATP consumers.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1993

Interactions between glucose metabolism and oxidative phosphorylations on respiratory-competent Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells.

The purpose of this work was to analyze the interactions between oxidative phosphorylations and glucose metabolism on yeast cells aerobically grown on lactate as carbon source and incubated in a resting cell medium. On such respiratory-competent yeast cells, four different metabolic steady states have particularly been studied: (a) glucose feeding under anaerobiosis, (b) ethanol supply under aerobiosis, (c) glucose supply under aerobiosis and (d) glucose plus ethanol under aerobiosis. For each condition, we measured: (a) the cellular ATP/ADP ratio and NADH content sustained under these conditions, (b) the glucose consumption rate (glucose conditions) and the respiratory rate (aerobic conditions). Under aerobic conditions, when ethanol is used as substrate, the ATP/ADP ratio and NADH level are very high as compared with glucose feeding. However, the rate of oxygen consumption is similar under both conditions. The main observation is a large increase in the respiratory rate when both glucose and ethanol are added. This increase corresponds to an ATP/ADP ratio and a NADH level lower than those observed with ethanol but higher than those with glucose. Therefore the response of the respiratory rate to the ATP/ADP ratio depends on the redox potential. We studied the way in which the ATP-consuming activity was increased under glucose+ethanol conditions. By NMR experiments, it appears that neither the futile cycle at the level of the phosphofructo-1-kinase/fructo-1,6-bisphosphatase couple nor the synthesis of carbohydrate stores could account for the increase in oxidative phosphorylation. However, it is shown that, in the presence of glucose+ethanol, ATP consumption is strongly stimulated. It is hypothesized that this consumption is essentially due to the combination of the well-known plasma membrane proton-ATPase activation by glucose and the high phosphate potential due to oxidative ethanol metabolism. While it is well documented that oxidative phosphorylations inhibit the glycolytic flux, i.e. the Pasteur effect, we clearly show in this work that the glycolytic pathway limits the ability of mitochondria to maintain a cellular phosphate potential.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗
PubMed1997

Different preconditioning stimuli invoke disparate electromechanical and energetic responses to global ischemia in rat hearts.

One hypothesized mechanism of the cardioprotection provided by preconditioning is decreased utilization of ATP during ischemia. Although ATP levels in preconditioned heart during ischemia have been previously studied, contractile activity during ischemia has not been investigated. Contractile activity accounts for significant ATP consumption during ischemia. We hypothesized that preconditioning stimuli may conserve energy during the ischemic period by decreasing myocardial contractile energy expenditure prior to asystolic cardiac arrest. We studied three preconditioning stimuli: (i) four cycles of 5-min periods of ischemia (4 x 5' CI), (ii) 2 min of alpha 1-adrenergic stimulation (phenylephrine; PE), and (iii) 2 min of P1-purinergic stimulation (adenosine). The effects of these stimuli on myocardial ATP, ventricular contractility, and the time to cessation of electromechanical function (asystole) during the sustained ischemic period were then examined. Preconditioning stimuli (4 x 5' CI, phenylephrine, and adenosine) improved postischemic functional recovery compared with nonpreconditioned controls. Myocardial ATP contents at the end of 20 min of global ischemia were higher for adenosine-treated (9.0 +/- 1.5 mumol/g dry weight; p < 0.05) and PE-treated (9.9 +/- 1.9 mumol/g dryweight; p < 0.05) hearts than for controls (6.6 +/- 1.2 mumol/g dry weight). The CI hearts began with lower myocardial ATP levels (9.9 +/- 1.2 mumol/g dry weight; p < 0.05) than other groups prior to the sustained ischemic period (control 13.4 +/- 1.0 mumol/g dry weight). As a result of a lower rate of ATP depletion, ATP levels in the CI group were similar to the untreated control after 20 min of sustained ischemia (5.5 +/- 0.7 mumol/g dry weight). Preconditioning with 4 x 5' CI or adenosine (but not PE) led to earlier ventricular arrest. Only adenosine-treated hearts demonstrated a more rapid decline in ventricular contractility during sustained ischemia than did nonpreconditioned control hearts. We conclude that while the final recovery of ventricular contractility after asystolic arrest and reperfusion is improved by preconditioning with different stimuli (4 x 5' CI, adenosine, or PE), each stimulus conferred a characteristic electromechanical and energy conservation strategy during sustained ischemia. Adenosine conserved myocardial ATP content and reduced total cardiac work (developed pressure and heart beats). CI conserved myocardial ATP and minimized the number of ischemic cardiac beats. PE preserved myocardial ATP during ischemia without changing contractile behavior. Thus, energy conservation strategies during ischemia could contribute to the protection afforded by preconditioning stimuli, but the mechanisms appear to differ among stimuli.

Adenosine↗
PubMed1999

Effect of adenine nucleotide pool size in mitochondria on intramitochondrial ATP levels.

Net adenine nucleotide transport into and out of the mitochondrial matrix via the ATP-Mg/Pi carrier is activated by micromolar calcium concentrations in rat liver mitochondria. The purpose of this study was to induce net adenine nucleotide transport by varying the substrate supply and/or extramitochondrial ATP consumption in order to evaluate the effect of the mitochondrial adenine nucleotide pool size on intramitochondrial adenine nucleotide patterns under phosphorylating conditions. Above 12 nmol/mg protein, intramitochondrial ATP/ADP increased with an increase in the mitochondrial adenine nucleotide pool. The relationship between the rate of respiration and the mitochondrial ADP concentration did not depend on the mitochondrial adenine nucleotide pool size up to 9 nmol ADP/mg mitochondrial protein. The results are compatible with the notion that net uptake of adenine nucleotides at low energy states supports intramitochondrial ATP consuming processes and energized mitochondria may lose adenine nucleotides. The decrease of the mitochondrial adenine nucleotide content below 9 nmol/mg protein inhibits oxidative phosphorylation. In particular, this could be the case within the postischemic phase which is characterized by low cytosolic adenine nucleotide concentrations and energized mitochondria.

Adenine Nucleotides↗
PubMed2006

[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 Kinases↗
PubMed1996

Origin of concurrent ATPase activities in skinned cardiac trabeculae from rat.

1. To determine the rate of ATP turnover by the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ pump in cardiac muscle, and to assess the contributions of other ATPase activities to the overall ATP turnover rate, ATPase activity and isometric force production were studied in saponin-skinned trabeculae from rat. ATP hydrolysis was enzymatically coupled to the oxidation of NADH; the concentration of NADH was monitored photometrically. All measurements were performed at 20 +/- 1 degrees C and pH 7.0. Resting sarcomere length was adjusted to 2.1 microns. All solutions contained 5 mM caffeine to ensure continuous release of Ca2+ from the SR. 2. The Ca(2+)-independent ATPase activity, determined in relaxing solution (pCa 9), amounted to 130 +/- 13 microM s-1 (mean +/- S.E.M., n = 7) at the beginning of an experiment. During subsequent measurements in relaxing solution, a decrease in ATPase activity was observed, indicative of loss of membrane-bound ATPase activity. The steady-state Ca(2+)-independent (basal) ATPase activity was 83 +/- 5 microM s-1 (n = 66). 3. Treatment of saponin-skinned preparations with Triton X-100 abolished 50 microM s-1 (60%) of the basal ATPase activity. Addition of ouabain (1 mM) suppressed 14 +/- 5% of the basal activity, whereas 8 +/- 3% was suppressed by 20 microM cyclopiazonic acid (CPA). It is argued that 31 microM s-1 of the basal ATPase activity may be associated with MgATPase from the transverse tubular system. 4. The maximal Ca(2+)-activated ATPase activity, i.e. the total ATPase activity (determined in activating solution, pCa 4.3) corrected for basal ATPase activity, was found to be 409 +/- 15 microM s-1 (n = 66). Experiments with CPA indicated that at least 9 +/- 6% of the maximal Ca(2+)-activated ATPase activity originates from the sarcoplasmic Ca2+ pump. These experiments indicate that the rate of ATP consumption by the SR Ca2+ transporting ATPase amounts to at least 37 microM s-1. 5. Treatment of preparations with Triton X-100 abolished 15 +/- 3% of the maximal Ca(2+)-activated ATPase activity, indicating that 15 +/- 3% of the maximal Ca(2+)-activated ATPase activity is membrane bound. 6. Variation of free [Ca2+] indicated that apart from the actomyosin ATPase activity a second Ca(2+)-dependent ATPase activity contributed to the overall ATP turnover rate. This activity was half-maximal at pCa 6.21, and probably reflects the SR Ca2+ transporting ATPase. It constituted 18 +/- 3% of the Ca(2+)-dependent ATPase activity, yielding an upper limit for the SR Ca2+ transporting ATPase activity of 74 microM s-1.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗