Description
Product Characteristics: Responsible for the regulation of fatty acid synthesis by phosphorylation of acetyl-COA carboxylase. It also regulates cholesterol synthesis via phosphorylation and inactivation of hormone-sensitive lipase and hydroxymethylglutaryl-COA reductase. Appears to act as a metabolic stress-sensing protein kinase switching off biosynthetic pathways when cellular ATP levels are depleted and when 5AMP rises in response to fuel limitation and/or hypoxia. This is a catalytic subunit.
Target Information: The protein encoded by this gene belongs to the ser/thr protein kinase family. It is the catalytic subunit of the 5'-prime-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). AMPK is a cellular energy sensor conserved in all eukaryotic cells. The kinase activity of AMPK is activated by the stimuli that increase the cellular AMP/ATP ratio. AMPK regulates the activities of a number of key metabolic enzymes through phosphorylation. It protects cells from stresses that cause ATP depletion by switching off ATP-consuming biosynthetic pathways. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding distinct isoforms have been observed. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]