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AMP-Activated Protein Kinase

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Molecular Pharmacology

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Synonyms

AMPK

Definition

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a member of the serine/threonine protein kinase family, which modify other proteins (target proteins) by attaching phosphate groups to the side chains of serine or threonine, thus modifying their function. The primary role of AMPK is to sense energy status by monitoring the cellular ratios of AMP:ATP and ADP:AMP. Once activated by energy stress, AMPK acts to restore homeostasis by switching off downstream processes consuming ATP (such as cell growth and proliferation) while switching on catabolic processes generating ATP (such as glucose uptake and mitochondrial biogenesis). AMPK is also involved in regulating whole-body energy balance and has been identified as a key target in treating disorders such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Basic Characteristics

Structure

AMPK occurs universally in the form of heterotrimeric complexes containing a catalytic α subunit and regulatory β and γ subunits (Ross et al. 2016). Humans...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cell Signalling and Immunology, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland, UK

    D. Grahame Hardie

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  1. D. Grahame Hardie
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Correspondence to D. Grahame Hardie .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Bad Nauheim, Germany

    Stefan Offermanns

  2. Medical Faculty, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany

    Stefan Offermanns

  3. Friedrich-Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany

    Walter Rosenthal

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Hardie, D.G. (2021). AMP-Activated Protein Kinase. In: Offermanns, S., Rosenthal, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Molecular Pharmacology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57401-7_177

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