Raj K. Beri

We have developed a sensitive assay for the AMP-activated protein kinase kinase, the upstream component in the AMP-activated protein kinase cascade. Phosphorylation and activation of the downstream kinase by the upstream kinase absolutely requires AMP and is antagonized by high (millimolar) concentrations of ATP. We have purified the upstream kinase >1000-fold from rat liver; a variety of evidence indicates that the catalytic subunit may be a polypeptide of 58 kDa. The physical properties of the downstream and upstream kinases, e.g. catalytic subunit masses (63 versus 58 kDa) and native molecular masses (190 versus 195 kDa), are very similar. However, unlike the downstream kinase, the upstream kinase is not inactivated by protein phosphatases. The upstream kinase phosphorylates the downstream kinase at a single major site on the α subunit, i.e. threonine 172, which lies in the “activation segment” between the DFG and APE motifs. This site aligns with activating phosphorylation sites on many other protein kinases, including Thr177 on calmodulin-dependent protein kinase I. As well as suggesting a mechanism of activation of AMP-activated protein kinase, this finding is consistent with our recent report that the AMP-activated protein kinase kinase can slowly phosphorylate and activate calmodulin-dependent protein kinase I, at least in vitro (Hawley, S. A., Selbert, M. A., Goldstein, E. G., Edelman, A. M., Carling, D., and Hardie, D. G. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 27186-27191). We have developed a sensitive assay for the AMP-activated protein kinase kinase, the upstream component in the AMP-activated protein kinase cascade. Phosphorylation and activation of the downstream kinase by the upstream kinase absolutely requires AMP and is antagonized by high (millimolar) concentrations of ATP. We have purified the upstream kinase >1000-fold from rat liver; a variety of evidence indicates that the catalytic subunit may be a polypeptide of 58 kDa. The physical properties of the downstream and upstream kinases, e.g. catalytic subunit masses (63 versus 58 kDa) and native molecular masses (190 versus 195 kDa), are very similar. However, unlike the downstream kinase, the upstream kinase is not inactivated by protein phosphatases. The upstream kinase phosphorylates the downstream kinase at a single major site on the α subunit, i.e. threonine 172, which lies in the “activation segment” between the DFG and APE motifs. This site aligns with activating phosphorylation sites on many other protein kinases, including Thr177 on calmodulin-dependent protein kinase I. As well as suggesting a mechanism of activation of AMP-activated protein kinase, this finding is consistent with our recent report that the AMP-activated protein kinase kinase can slowly phosphorylate and activate calmodulin-dependent protein kinase I, at least in vitro (Hawley, S. A., Selbert, M. A., Goldstein, E. G., Edelman, A. M., Carling, D., and Hardie, D. G. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 27186-27191).

In vivo, hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) is known to be phosphorylated on two sites termed the regulatory and basal sites. However, the intracellular role of the basal site or the identity of the protein kinase phosphorylating this site has not been established. We show that 5-amino-4-imidazolecarboxamide ribonucleoside (AICAR) markedly activates cellular AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in a time- and dose-dependent manner. As expected for an agent that activates AMPK intracellularly, AICAR had no effect on the basal activity of HSL. However, preincubation of adipocytes with AICAR led to a reduced response of these cells to the lipolytic agent isoprenaline. AICAR was also shown to profoundly inhibit lipogenesis through increased phosphorylation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC). Thus it appears that in addition to regulating lipogenesis, AMPK also plays an important antilipolytic role by regulating HSL in rat adipocytes.

In mammals, an AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylates both acetyl-CoA carboxylase and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase in vitro and has been proposed to play a major role in the regulation of lipid metabolism in vivo. We report here the primary sequence of rat AMPK and show that antibodies raised against synthetic peptides based on the deduced sequence of AMPK immunoprecipitate AMPK activity from rat liver extracts. AMPK has a remarkable degree of sequence identity to the proteins encoded by the yeast SNF1 gene and the plant RKIN1 gene. SNF1 protein kinase activity is essential for release of genes from glucose repression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Expression of cRKIN1 in yeast snf1 mutants restores SNF1 function. These results indicate that AMPK, SNF1, and RKIN1 form part of a family of protein kinases that have been highly conserved throughout evolution. Our results suggest that AMPK may be involved in the regulation of a wide range of metabolic pathways.

There is growing evidence that mammalian AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) plays a role in protecting cells from stresses that cause ATP depletion by switching off ATP-consuming biosynthetic pathways. The active form of AMPK from rat liver exists as a heterotrimeric complex and we have previously shown that the catalytic subunit is structurally and functionally related to the SNF1 protein kinase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here we describe the isolation and characterization of the two other polypeptides, termed AMPKβ and AMPKγ, that together with the catalytic subunit (AMPKα) form the active kinase complex in mammalian liver. Sequence analysis of cDNA clones encoding these subunits reveals that they are related to yeast proteins that interact with SNF1, providing further evidence that the regulation and function of AMPK and SNF1 have been conserved throughout evolution. The amino acid sequence of the β subunit is most closely related to SIP2 (35% identity), while the amino acid sequence of the γ subunit is 35% identical with SNF4. We show that both AMPKβ and AMPKγ mRNA and protein are expressed widely in rat tissues. We show that AMPKβ interacts with both AMPKα and AMPKγ in vitro, whereas AMPKα does not interact with AMPKγ under the same conditions. These results suggest that AMPKβ mediates the association of the heterotrimeric AMPK complex in vitro, and will facilitate future studies aimed at investigating the regulation of AMPK in vivo. There is growing evidence that mammalian AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) plays a role in protecting cells from stresses that cause ATP depletion by switching off ATP-consuming biosynthetic pathways. The active form of AMPK from rat liver exists as a heterotrimeric complex and we have previously shown that the catalytic subunit is structurally and functionally related to the SNF1 protein kinase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here we describe the isolation and characterization of the two other polypeptides, termed AMPKβ and AMPKγ, that together with the catalytic subunit (AMPKα) form the active kinase complex in mammalian liver. Sequence analysis of cDNA clones encoding these subunits reveals that they are related to yeast proteins that interact with SNF1, providing further evidence that the regulation and function of AMPK and SNF1 have been conserved throughout evolution. The amino acid sequence of the β subunit is most closely related to SIP2 (35% identity), while the amino acid sequence of the γ subunit is 35% identical with SNF4. We show that both AMPKβ and AMPKγ mRNA and protein are expressed widely in rat tissues. We show that AMPKβ interacts with both AMPKα and AMPKγ in vitro, whereas AMPKα does not interact with AMPKγ under the same conditions. These results suggest that AMPKβ mediates the association of the heterotrimeric AMPK complex in vitro, and will facilitate future studies aimed at investigating the regulation of AMPK in vivo.

The use of protein phosphatase inhibitors has been instrumental in defining the intracellular roles of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1), PP2A and PP2B. Identification of the role of PP2C in vivo has been hampered, in part, by the unavailability of specific inhibitors. In order to facilitate the identification of novel and specific inhibitors of PP2C by random screening of compounds, and to further characterize this enzyme at the molecular level by site-directed mutagenesis and X-ray crystallography, we have expressed active recombinant human PP2C alpha (rPP2C alpha) in Escherichia coli. Biochemical characterization of rPP2C alpha showed that it could hydrolyse p-nitrophenyl phosphate (pNPP) although, in contrast with native PP2C, this was not stimulated by Mg2+. As with native PP2C, okadaic acid failed to inhibit rPP2C alpha, whereas 50 mM NaF dramatically inhibited its activity. An alignment of the amino acid sequence of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) with those of other serine/threonine protein kinases around the regulatory phosphorylation site (subdomains VII-VIII) revealed a high degree of conservation. Phosphopeptides derived from this region of AMPK and containing the almost invariant threonine (Thr172 in AMPK) were found to be good substrates for rPP2C alpha. We also showed that rPP2C alpha can inactivate AMPK, but only in the presence of Mg2+. To define the regions of PP2C alpha important for catalytic activity, we expressed a number of truncated proteins based on the sequence and proposed domain structure of the PP2C alpha homologue from Paramecium tetraurelia. Deletion of 75 residues (9 kDa) from the C-terminus appeared to have little effect on the catalytic activity using pNPP, phosphopeptides or AMPK as substrates. This suggests that the residues important in catalysis lie elsewhere in the protein. A further deletion of the C-terminus led to a completely inactive and very poorly soluble protein.