Role of the α2 subunit of AMP-activated protein kinase and its nuclear localization in mitochondria and energy metabolism-related gene expressions in C2C12 cells.

Background: AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a heterotrimer with α1 or α2 catalytic subunits, acts as an energy sensor and regulates cellular homeostasis. Whereas AMPKα1 is necessary for myogenesis in skeletal muscle, the role of AMPKα2 in myogenic differentiation and energy metabolism-related gene expressions has remained unclear. We here examined the specific roles of AMPKα1 and AMPKα2 in the myogenic differentiation and mitochondria and energy metabolism-related gene expressions in C2C12 cells.

Activation of AMPK-Regulated CRH Neurons in the PVH is Sufficient and Necessary to Induce Dietary Preference for Carbohydrate over Fat.

Food selection is essential for metabolic homeostasis and is influenced by nutritional state, food palatability, and social factors such as stress. However, the mechanism responsible for selection between a high-carbohydrate diet (HCD) and a high-fat diet (HFD) remains unknown. Here, we show that activation of a subset of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH)-positive neurons in the rostral region of the paraventricular hypothalamus (PVH) induces selection of an HCD over an HFD in mice during refeeding after fasting, resulting in a rapid recovery from the change in ketone metabolism.

[Synapse maturation and autism: learning from neuroligin model mice].

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social interaction, communication, and restricted and repetitive behavior. Synaptic defects have been implicated in autism; nevertheless, the cause is still largely unknown. A mutation that substitutes cysteine for arginine at residue 451 of Neuroligin-3 (R451C) is the first monogenic mutation identified in idiopathic autism patients.