title: Inhibition of fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis by stimulation of AMP-activated protein kinase.
abstract: AMP-activated protein kinase is a multisubstrate protein kinase that, in liver, inactivates both acetyl-CoA carboxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme of fatty acid synthesis, and 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase, the rate-limiting enzyme of cholesterol synthesis. AICAR (5-amino 4-imidazolecarboxamide ribotide, ZMP) was found to stimulate up to 10-fold rat liver AMP-activated protein kinase, with a half-maximal effect at approximately 5 mM. In accordance with previous observations, addition to suspensions of isolated rat hepatocytes of 50-500 microM AICAriboside, the nucleoside corresponding to ZMP, resulted in the accumulation of millimolar concentrations of the latter. This was accompanied by a dose-dependent inactivation of both acetyl-CoA carboxylase and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase. Addition of 50-500 microM AICAriboside to hepatocyte suspensions incubated in the presence of various substrates, including glucose and lactate/pyruvate, caused a parallel inhibition of both fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis. With lactate/pyruvate (10/1 mM), half-maximal inhibition was obtained at approximately 100 microM, and near-complete inhibition at 500 microM AICAriboside. These findings open new perspectives for the simultaneous control of triglyceride and cholesterol synthesis by pharmacological stimulators of AMP-activated protein kinase.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Physiological Chemistry, International Institute of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Henin
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Vincent
authors.forename: H E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Gruber
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Van den Berghe
mesh_terms: D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases; D000103:Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D000620:Aminoimidazole Carboxamide / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D009097:Multienzyme Complexes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012263:Ribonucleosides / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012265:Ribonucleotides / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D009097:Multienzyme Complexes; D012263:Ribonucleosides; D012265:Ribonucleotides; D000620:Aminoimidazole Carboxamide; C011651:acadesine; D002784:Cholesterol; D011494:Protein Kinases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases; D000103:Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase; C031143:AICA ribonucleotide