Effects of WY-14,643 on the phosphorylation and activation of AMP-dependent protein kinase.

BACKGROUND: AMP-dependent protein kinase (AMPK) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) alpha facilitate fatty acid oxidation. We have shown that treatment of hepatoma cells with ethanol or feeding ethanol-containing diets to mice inhibited both PPARalpha and AMPK activity. Importantly, WY-14,643 reversed the development of fatty liver in alcohol-fed mice. Whether WY-14,643, a PPARalpha agonist, has any effects on AMPK is not known. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of WY-14,643 on AMPK activity. METHODS: The effect of WY-14,643 on AMPK phosphorylation and activity were examined in rat hepatoma cells (H4IIEC3). The effect of WY-14,643 on upstream kinases of AMPK, PKC-zeta/LKB1, intracellular AMP:ATP ratio, oxidative stress, and AMPK gene expression were studied. RESULTS: Treatment of the H4IIEC3 cells with WY-14,643 for 24h led to 60% increase in the phosphorylation of AMPK. The effect of WY-14,643 on AMPK phosphorylation is PKC-zeta/LKB1 independent. WY-14,643 did not alter the levels of intracellular AMP:ATP ratio and it did not increase the levels of reactive oxygen species at 24-h of treatment. WY-14,643-induced AMPK alpha subunit expression by 2- to 2.5-fold, but there was no change in AMPKalpha subunit protein at 24h. The effect of WY-14,643 on AMPK phosphorylation did not altered by the presence of an NADPH oxidase inhibitor. CONCLUSIONS: WY-14,643 induced AMPKalpha subunit phosphorylation and the activity of the enzyme. This was associated with induction of AMPKalpha1 and alpha2 mRNA, but the mechanism for this activation is uncertain.

A prevalent variant in PPP1R3A impairs glycogen synthesis and reduces muscle glycogen content in humans and mice.

BACKGROUND: Stored glycogen is an important source of energy for skeletal muscle. Human genetic disorders primarily affecting skeletal muscle glycogen turnover are well-recognised, but rare. We previously reported that a frameshift/premature stop mutation in PPP1R3A, the gene encoding RGL, a key regulator of muscle glycogen metabolism, was present in 1.36% of participants from a population of white individuals in the UK. However, the functional implications of the mutation were not known. The objective of this study was to characterise the molecular and physiological consequences of this genetic variant. METHODS AND FINDINGS: In this study we found a similar prevalence of the variant in an independent UK white population of 744 participants (1.46%) and, using in vivo (13)C magnetic resonance spectroscopy studies, demonstrate that human carriers (n = 6) of the variant have low basal (65% lower, p = 0.002) and postprandial muscle glycogen levels. Mice engineered to express the equivalent mutation had similarly decreased muscle glycogen levels (40% lower in heterozygous knock-in mice, p < 0.05). In muscle tissue from these mice, failure of the truncated mutant to bind glycogen and colocalize with glycogen synthase (GS) decreased GS and increased glycogen phosphorylase activity states, which account for the decreased glycogen content. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, PPP1R3A C1984DeltaAG (stop codon 668) is, to our knowledge, the first prevalent mutation described that directly impairs glycogen synthesis and decreases glycogen levels in human skeletal muscle. The fact that it is present in approximately 1 in 70 UK whites increases the potential biomedical relevance of these observations.

Effect of ethanol on hydrogen peroxide-induced AMPK phosphorylation.

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) responds to oxidative stress. Previous work has shown that ethanol treatment of cultured hepatoma cells and of mice inhibited the activity of AMPK and reduced the amount of AMPK protein. Ethanol generates oxidative stress in the liver. Since AMPK is activated by reactive oxygen species, it seems paradoxical that ethanol would inhibit AMPK in the hepatoma cells. In an attempt to understand the mechanism whereby ethanol inhibits AMPK, we studied the effect of ethanol on AMPK activation by exogenous hydrogen peroxide. The effects of ethanol, hydrogen peroxide, and inhibitors of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) [either okadaic acid or PP2A small interference RNA (siRNA)] on AMPK phosphorylation and activity were examined in rat hepatoma cells (H4IIEC3) and HeLa cells. In H4IIEC3 cells, hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2), 1 mM) transiently increased the level of phospho-AMPK to 1.5-fold over control (P < 0.05). Similar findings were observed in HeLa cells, which do not express the upstream AMPK kinase, LKB1. H(2)O(2) markedly increased the phosphorylation of LKB1 in H4IIEC3 cells. Ethanol significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of PKC-zeta, LKB1, and AMPK caused by exposure to H(2)O(2). This inhibitory effect of ethanol required its metabolism. More importantly, the inhibitory effects of ethanol on H(2)O(2)-induced AMPK phosphorylation were attenuated by the presence of the PP2A inhibitor, okadaic acid, or PP2A siRNA. The inhibitory effect of ethanol on AMPK phosphorylation is exerted through the inhibition of PKC-zeta and LKB1 phosphorylation and the activation of PP2A.