The LKB1-AMPK pathway: metabolism and growth control in tumour suppression.
Author: Shackelford DB, Shaw RJ.
Affiliation:
Dulbecco Center for Cancer Research, Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California 92037, USA.
Conference/Journal: Nat Rev Cancer.
Date published: 2009 Aug
Other:
Volume ID: 9 , Issue ID: 8 , Pages: 563-75 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1038/nrc2676. , Word Count: 107
In the past decade, studies of the human tumour suppressor LKB1 have uncovered a novel signalling pathway that links cell metabolism to growth control and cell polarity. LKB1 encodes a serine-threonine kinase that directly phosphorylates and activates AMPK, a central metabolic sensor. AMPK regulates lipid, cholesterol and glucose metabolism in specialized metabolic tissues, such as liver, muscle and adipose tissue. This function has made AMPK a key therapeutic target in patients with diabetes. The connection of AMPK with several tumour suppressors suggests that therapeutic manipulation of this pathway using established diabetes drugs warrants further investigation in patients with cancer.
PMID: 19629071 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] PMCID: PMC2756045
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