Exploring AMPK as a Potential Exercise Mimetic Target
At some point researchers will begin earnestly trying to develop the means to replicate some of the beneficial effects of exercise via drugs, in the same way as they are presently trying to replicate the beneficial effects of calorie restriction. At the moment research is still largely exploratory, based on the handful of targets known to be related to the metabolic response to exercise:
Normal aging can result in a decline of memory and muscle function. Exercise may prevent or delay these changes. However, aging-associated frailty can preclude physical activity.In young sedentary animals, pharmacological activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a transcriptional regulator important for muscle physiology, enhanced spatial memory function, and endurance. In the present study we investigated effects of AMPK agonist 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide riboside (AICAR) on memory and motor function in young (5- to 7-wk-old) and aged (23-mo-old) female C57Bl/6 mice, and in young (4- to 6-wk-old) transgenic mice with muscle-specific mutated AMPK α2-subunit (AMPK-DN).
Mice were injected with AICAR (500 mg/kg) for 3-14 d. Two weeks thereafter animals were tested in the Morris water maze, rotarod, and open field. Improved water maze performance and motor function were observed, albeit at longer duration of administration, in aged (14-d AICAR) than in young (3-d AICAR) mice. In the AMPK-DN mice, the compound did not enhance behavior, providing support for a muscle-mediated mechanism.
In addition, microarray analysis of muscle and hippocampal tissue derived from aged mice treated with AICAR revealed changes in gene expression in both tissues, which correlated with behavioral effects in a dose-dependent manner. Pronounced up-regulation of mitochondrial genes in muscle was observed. In the hippocampus, genes relevant to neuronal development and plasticity were enriched. Altogether, endurance-related factors may mediate both muscle and brain health in aging, and could play a role in new therapeutic interventions.
The issue of a pharmaceutical solution to synthetically activating AMPK is increased risk of side effects. A company which has made enhancing the body's natural supply of glutathione (the major endogenous antioxidant produced by cells) a great deal easier using d-ribose-l-cysteine (PubMed: ribcys) has also created a supplement which engages AMPK to improve cellular energy, metabolism, and glutathione levels, all in a heart-healthy manner. Although not formally FDA approved, as it is a supplement and not a drug, it has nevertheless passed FDA scrutiny. Anyone interested in the fight against aging will want to take note of both the d-ribose-l-cysteine for increasing intracellular glutathione as well as the supplement for engaging AMPK.