SAGE Journals Online
Advertisement
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Advertisement

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
The Neuroscientist
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
1073858408327805v1
15/4/309    most recent
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Spasic, M. R.
Right arrow Articles by Norga, K. K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Spasic, M. R.
Right arrow Articles by Norga, K. K.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

AMP-Activated Protein Kinase (AMPK) Molecular Crossroad for Metabolic Control and Survival of Neurons

Milos R. Spasic

Laboratory of Developmental Genetics, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), Leuven, Belgium, Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Department of Woman & Child, K.U. Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

Patrick Callaerts

Laboratory of Developmental Genetics, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), Leuven, Belgium, Laboratory of Developmental Genetics, Department of Human Genetics, K.U. Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

Koenraad K. Norga

Laboratory of Developmental Genetics, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), Leuven, Belgium, Koen.Norga{at}uz.kuleuven.be, Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Department of Woman & Child, K.U. Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) constitutes a molecular hub for cellular metabolic control, common to all eukaryotic cells. Numerous reports have established how AMPK responds to changes in the AMP:ATP ratio as a measure of cellular energy levels. In this way, it integrates control over a number of metabolic enzymes and adapts cellular processes to the current energy status in various cell types, such as muscle and liver cells. The role of AMPK in the development, function, and maintenance of the nervous system, on the other hand, has only recently gained attention. Neurons, while highly metabolically active, have poor capacity for nutrient storage and are thus sensitive to energy fluctuations. Recent reports demonstrate that AMPK may have neuroprotective properties and is activated in neurons by resveratrol but also by metabolic stress in the form of ischemia/hypoxia and glucose deprivation. Novel studies on AMPK also implicate neuronal activity as a critical factor in neurodegeneration. Here we discuss the latest advances in the knowledge of AMPK's role in the metabolic control and survival of excitable cells.

Key Words: AMPK • neuronal metabolism • metabolic stress • neuroprotection • neurodegeneration • apoptosis

This version was published on August 1, 2009

The Neuroscientist, Vol. 15, No. 4, 309-316 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1073858408327805
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?