A spatiotemporal hypothesis for the regulation, role, and targeting of AMPK in prostate cancer

Abstract

5′ AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a heterotrimer complex, that can exist in at least 12 different permutations, each of which can have different subcellular locations and activities Diverse upstream signals regulate different AMPK subcellular complexes AMPK was first identified as a master regulator of metabolism, but could have numerous roles beyond metabolism AMPK can have context-dependent effects in cancer CaMKK2 seems to be the dominant upstream AMPK kinase in the prostate Most small molecule modulators of AMPK have known off-target effects Given its ubiquitous expression and varied roles throughout the body, directly targeting AMPK could present numerous on-target side effects