Chronic Activation of γ2 AMPK Induces Obesity and Reduces β Cell Function

Arash Yavari (Lead / Corresponding author), Claire J Stocker, Sahar Ghaffari, Edward T Wargent, Violetta Steeples, Gabor Czibik, Katalin Pinter, Mohamed Bellahcene, Angela Woods, Pablo B Martínez de Morentin, Céline Cansell, Brian Y H Lam, André Chuster, Kasparas Petkevicius, Marie-Sophie Nguyen-Tu, Aida Martinez-Sanchez, Timothy J Pullen, Peter L Oliver, Alexander Stockenhuber, Chinh NguyenMerzaka Lazdam, Jacqueline F O'Dowd, Parvathy Harikumar, Mónika Tóth, Craig Beall, Theodosios Kyriakou, Julia Parnis, Dhruv Sarma, George Katritsis, Diana D J Wortmann, Andrew R Harper, Laurence A Brown, Robin Willows, Silvia Gandra, Victor Poncio, Márcio J de Oliveira Figueiredo, Nathan R Qi, Stuart N Peirson, Rory McCrimmon, Balázs Gereben, László Tretter, Csaba Fekete, Charles Redwood, Giles S H Yeo, Lora K Heisler, Guy A Rutter, Mark A. Smith, Dominic J Withers, David Carling, Eduardo B Sternick, Jonathan R S Arch, Michael A Cawthorne, Hugh Watkins, Houman Ashrafian (Lead / Corresponding author)

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    81 Citations (Scopus)
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    Abstract

    Despite significant advances in our understanding of the biology determining systemic energy homeostasis, the treatment of obesity remains a medical challenge. Activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) has been proposed as an attractive strategy for the treatment of obesity and its complications. AMPK is a conserved, ubiquitously expressed, heterotrimeric serine/threonine kinase whose short-term activation has multiple beneficial metabolic effects. Whether these translate into long-term benefits for obesity and its complications is unknown. Here, we observe that mice with chronic AMPK activation, resulting from mutation of the AMPK γ2 subunit, exhibit ghrelin signaling-dependent hyperphagia, obesity, and impaired pancreatic islet insulin secretion. Humans bearing the homologous mutation manifest a congruent phenotype. Our studies highlight that long-term AMPK activation throughout all tissues can have adverse metabolic consequences, with implications for pharmacological strategies seeking to chronically activate AMPK systemically to treat metabolic disease.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)821-835
    Number of pages16
    JournalCell Metabolism
    Volume23
    Issue number5
    Early online date28 Apr 2016
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 10 May 2016

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