p70S6 kinase phosphorylates AMPK on serine 491 to mediate leptin's effect on food intake

Y Dagon, E Hur, B Zheng, K Wellenstein, LC Cantley… - Cell metabolism, 2012 - cell.com
Y Dagon, E Hur, B Zheng, K Wellenstein, LC Cantley, BB Kahn
Cell metabolism, 2012cell.com
Summary The PI3K-AKT, mTOR-p70S6 kinase and AMPK pathways play distinct and critical
roles in metabolic regulation. Each pathway is necessary for leptin's anorexigenic effects in
the hypothalamus. Here we show that these pathways converge in an integrated
phosphorylation cascade to mediate leptin action in the hypothalamus. We identify serine
491 on α2AMPK as the site of convergence and show that p70S6 kinase forms a complex
with α2AMPK, resulting in phosphorylation on serine 491. Blocking α2AMPK-serine 491 …
Summary
The PI3K-AKT, mTOR-p70S6 kinase and AMPK pathways play distinct and critical roles in metabolic regulation. Each pathway is necessary for leptin's anorexigenic effects in the hypothalamus. Here we show that these pathways converge in an integrated phosphorylation cascade to mediate leptin action in the hypothalamus. We identify serine491 on α2AMPK as the site of convergence and show that p70S6 kinase forms a complex with α2AMPK, resulting in phosphorylation on serine491. Blocking α2AMPK-serine491 phosphorylation increases hypothalamic AMPK activity, food intake, and body weight. Serine491 phosphorylation is necessary for leptin's effects on hypothalamic α2AMPK activity, neuropeptide expression, food intake, and body weight. These results identify an inhibitory AMPK kinase, p70S6 kinase, and demonstrate that AMPK is a substrate for mTOR-p70S6 kinase. This discovery has broad biologic implications since mTOR-p70S6 kinase and AMPK have multiple, fundamental and generally opposing cellular effects that regulate metabolism, cell growth, and development.
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