Mechanism of Action
AMPK Signaling
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AMPK, or AMP-activated protein kinase, is an enzyme that works as a cellular fuel gauge. When a cell's energy charge falls, AMPK switches on and shifts the cell towards producing energy and away from building things. A compound filed here either activates AMPK directly or changes the energy state that activates it, and the two are frequently reported under the same label.
Why it matters here
AMPK appears on records from metabolic to longevity because it is a hub rather than a specific target. That breadth is a reason to read the individual claim and its rung rather than the pathway name.
What it is not
AMPK activation in a culture dish is not AMPK activation in human muscle or liver, and the concentrations used in vitro are often far above anything reachable in a person. AMPK is filed here as a mechanism while the wider system it belongs to is the Energy Sensing pathway; a mechanism acts on a pathway rather than being one.
Also called
- ampk
- ampk activation
- ampk pathway
- ampk signalling
- amp-activated protein kinase activation
AMPK is AMP-activated protein kinase. The alias list carries both signaling and signalling; they are one term, not two.