Shrungeswara AH, Unnikrishnan MK. Energy Provisioning and Inflammasome Activation: The Pivotal Role of AMPK in Sterile Inflammation and Associated Metabolic Disorders.
Antiinflamm Antiallergy Agents Med Chem 2020;
20:107-117. [PMID:
32938355 DOI:
10.2174/1871523019666200916115034]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2020] [Revised: 07/02/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Body defenses and metabolic processes probably co-evolved in such a way that rapid, energy-intensive acute inflammatory repair is functionally integrated with energy allocation in a starvation/ infection / injury-prone primitive environment. Disruptive metabolic surplus, aggravated by sedentary lifestyle induces chronic under-activation of AMPK, the master regulator of intracellular energy homeostasis. Sudden increase in chronic, dysregulated 'sterile' inflammatory disorders probably results from a shift towards calorie rich, sanitized, cushioned, injury/ infection free environment, repositioning inflammatory repair pathways towards chronic, non-microbial, 'sterile', 'low grade', and 'parainflammation'. AMPK, (at the helm of energy provisioning) supervises the metabolic regulation of inflammasome activation, a common denominator in lifestyle disorders.
DISCUSSION
In this review, we discuss various pathways linking AMPK under-activation and inflammasome activation. AMPK under-activation, the possible norm in energy-rich sedentary lifestyle, could be the central agency that stimulates inflammasome activation by multiple pathways such as 1: decreasing autophagy, and accumulation of intracellular DAMPs, (particulate crystalline molecules, advanced glycation end-products, oxidized lipids, etc.) 2: stimulating a glycolytic shift (pro-inflammatory) in metabolism, 3: promoting NF-kB activation and decreasing Nrf2 activation, 4: increasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) and Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) stress.
CONCLUSION
The 'inverse energy crisis' associated with calorie-rich, sedentary lifestyle, advocates dietary and pharmacological interventions for treating chronic metabolic disorders by overcoming / reversing AMPK under-activation.
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