title: The AMPK enzyme-complex: from the regulation of cellular energy homeostasis to a possible new molecular target in the management of chronic inflammatory disorders.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), known as an enzymatic complex that regulates the energetic metabolism, is emerging as a pivotal enzyme and enzymatic pathway involved in the regulation of immune homeostatic networks. It is also involved in the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology of chronic inflammatory diseases.
  
  
  METHODS
  AMPK is expressed in several immune cell types including macrophages, lymphocytes, neutrophils and dendritic cells, and governs a broad array of cell functions, which include cytokine production, chemotaxis, cytotoxicity, apoptosis and proliferation. Based on its wide variety of immunoregulatory actions, the AMPK system has been targeted to reveal its impact on the course of immune-related diseases, such as atherosclerosis, psoriasis, joint inflammation and inflammatory bowel diseases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The identification of AMPK subunits responsible for specific anti-inflammatory actions and the understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms will promote the generation of novel AMPK activators, endowed with improved pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic profiles. These new tools will aid us to utilize AMPK pathway activation in the management of acute and chronic inflammatory diseases, while minimizing potential adverse reactions related to the effects of AMPK on metabolic energy.
authors.affiliation: a 1 University of Pisa, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine , Via Roma 55, 56126 Pisa, Italy ; r.colucci@med.unipi.it.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Antonioli
authors.affiliation: a 1 University of Pisa, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine , Via Roma 55, 56126 Pisa, Italy ; r.colucci@med.unipi.it.
authors.forename: Rocchina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Colucci
authors.affiliation: a 1 University of Pisa, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine , Via Roma 55, 56126 Pisa, Italy ; r.colucci@med.unipi.it.
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pellegrini
authors.affiliation: a 1 University of Pisa, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine , Via Roma 55, 56126 Pisa, Italy ; r.colucci@med.unipi.it.
authors.forename: Giulio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giustarini
authors.affiliation: a 1 University of Pisa, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine , Via Roma 55, 56126 Pisa, Italy ; r.colucci@med.unipi.it.
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sacco
authors.affiliation: a 1 University of Pisa, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine , Via Roma 55, 56126 Pisa, Italy ; r.colucci@med.unipi.it.
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tirotta
authors.affiliation: b 2 University of Padova, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences , Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Caputi
authors.affiliation: b 2 University of Padova, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences , Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Marsilio
authors.affiliation: b 2 University of Padova, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences , Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Cecilia
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Giron
authors.affiliation: c 3 Morristown Medical Center, Department of Surgery , Morristown, NJ, USA.|d 4 Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Department of Surgery , Newark, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Zoltán H
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Németh
authors.affiliation: a 1 University of Pisa, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine , Via Roma 55, 56126 Pisa, Italy ; r.colucci@med.unipi.it.
authors.forename: Corrado
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blandizzi
authors.affiliation: a 1 University of Pisa, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine , Via Roma 55, 56126 Pisa, Italy ; r.colucci@med.unipi.it.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fornai
mesh_terms: D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015195:Drug Design; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000503:physiopathology; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases
keywords: adenosine; adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase; adenosine triphosphate; dendritic cells; immune system; inflammation; inflammatory disease; lymphocytes; macrophages; neutrophils