Title:Energy Provisioning and Inflammasome Activation: The Pivotal Role of AMPK in Sterile Inflammation and Associated Metabolic Disorders
Volume: 20
Issue: 2
Author(s): Akhila H. Shrungeswara and Mazhuvancherry K. Unnikrishnan*
Affiliation:
- Department of Pharmacology, National College of Pharmacy, Kerala University of Health Sciences, Kozhikode,India
Keywords:
Inflammasome, AMPK, inflammation, metabolic disorders, inflammatory signals, sterile.
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.