Chutes and Ladders: the search for protein kinases that act on AMPK

Lee A Witters; Bruce E Kemp; Anthony R Means

doi:10.1016/j.tibs.2005.11.009

Chutes and Ladders: the search for protein kinases that act on AMPK

Trends Biochem Sci. 2006 Jan;31(1):13-6. doi: 10.1016/j.tibs.2005.11.009. Epub 2005 Dec 13.

Authors

Lee A Witters¹, Bruce E Kemp, Anthony R Means

Affiliation

¹ Departments of Medicine and Biochemistry, Dartmouth Medical School and the Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA. [email protected]

PMID: 16356723
DOI: 10.1016/j.tibs.2005.11.009

Abstract

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a key regulator of energy homeostasis in mammalian cells, is, in turn, regulated by long-sought upstream protein kinases (AMPKKs). Following the recent identification of the tumor-suppressor kinase LKB1 as an AMPKK, a broader role for AMPK in metabolic economy has been unveiled by a new body of work from three groups that implicates the Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinases as AMPKKs. We suggest that PKE (protein kinase "energy" or "economy") is now an apt name for this kinase, which regulates both cellular and whole-organism energy homeostasis.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases
AMP-Activated Protein Kinases
Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Kinase
Energy Metabolism
Homeostasis
Models, Biological
Models, Molecular
Multienzyme Complexes / chemistry
Multienzyme Complexes / metabolism*
Protein Conformation
Protein Kinases / metabolism*
Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / chemistry
Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / metabolism*

Substances

Multienzyme Complexes
Protein Kinases
Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Kinase
AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases
AMP-Activated Protein Kinases