The stimulation of heart glycolysis by increased workload does not require AMP-activated protein kinase but a wortmannin-sensitive mechanism.

Increasing heart workload stimulates glycolysis by enhancing glucose transport and fructose-2,6-bisphosphate (Fru-2,6-P(2)), the latter resulting from 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase (PFK-2) activation. Here, we investigated whether adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) mediates PFK-2 activation in hearts submitted to increased workload. When heart work was increased, PFK-2 activity, Fru-2,6-P(2) content and glycolysis increased, whereas the AMP:adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and phosphocreatine/creatine (PCr:Cr) ratios, and AMPK activity remained unchanged. Wortmannin, the well-known phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase inhibitor, blocked the activation of protein kinase B and the increase in glycolysis and Fru-2,6-P(2) content induced by increased work. Therefore, the control of heart glycolysis by contraction differs from that in skeletal muscle where AMPK is involved.

Insulin and ischemia stimulate glycolysis by acting on the same targets through different and opposing signaling pathways.

The stimulation of heart glycolysis by insulin and ischemia involves the recruitment of the glucose transporter GLUT4 to the plasma membrane and the activation of 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase (PFK-2), which in turn increases the concentration of fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, a well-known stimulator of glycolysis. This review focuses on the mechanisms responsible for PFK-2 activation by insulin and ischemia in heart. Heart PFK-2 is phosphorylated by various protein kinases, including protein kinase B (PKB), thought to mediate most, if not all, short-term effects of insulin, and the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), known to be activated under anaerobic conditions. We found that PKB is not required for PFK-2 activation by insulin and we partially purified an insulin-sensitive PFK-2 kinase, that differs from PKB and from other insulin-stimulated protein kinases. We also demonstrated that AMPK mediates PFK-2 activation by ischemia. Finally, our study of the interaction between the signaling pathways of insulin and ischemia revealed opposite effects on signaling. Intracellular acidosis induced by ischemia inhibited insulin signaling, whereas insulin pretreatment antagonized AMPK activation by ischemia.

The stimulation of glycolysis by hypoxia in activated monocytes is mediated by AMP-activated protein kinase and inducible 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase.

The activation of monocytes involves a stimulation of glycolysis, release of potent inflammatory mediators, and alterations in gene expression. All of these processes are known to be further increased under hypoxic conditions. The activated monocytes express inducible 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase (iPFK-2), which synthesizes fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, a stimulator of glycolysis. During ischemia, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activates the homologous heart 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase isoform by phosphorylating its Ser-466. Here, we studied the involvement of AMPK and iPFK-2 in the stimulation of glycolysis in activated monocytes under hypoxia. iPFK-2 was phosphorylated on the homologous serine (Ser-461) and activated by AMPK in vitro. The activation of human monocytes by lipopolysaccharide induced iPFK-2 expression and increased fructose 2,6-bisphosphate content and glycolysis. The incubation of activated monocytes with oligomycin, an inhibitor of oxidative phosphorylation, or under hypoxic conditions activated AMPK and further increased iPFK-2 activity, fructose 2,6-bisphosphate content, and glycolysis. In cultured human embryonic kidney 293 cells, the expression of a dominant-negative AMPK prevented both the activation and phosphorylation of co-transfected iPFK-2 by oligomycin. It is concluded that the stimulation of glycolysis by hypoxia in activated monocytes requires the phosphorylation and activation of iPFK-2 by AMPK.