Understanding the Molecular Basis of the Interaction between NDPK-A and AMPK α1

Abstract

Nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDPK) (nm23/awd) belongs to a multifunctional family of highly conserved proteins (∼16 to 20 kDa) including two well-characterized isoforms (NDPK-A and -B). NDPK catalyzes the conversion of nucleoside diphosphates to nucleoside triphosphates, regulates a diverse array of cellular events, and can act as a protein histidine kinase. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a heterotrimeric protein complex that responds to the cellular energy status by switching off ATP-consuming pathways and switching on ATP-generating pathways when ATP is limiting. AMPK was first discovered as an activity that inhibited preparations of acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase 1 (ACC1), a regulator of cellular fatty acid synthesis. We recently reported that NDPK-A (but not NDPK-B) selectively regulates the α1 isoform of AMPK independently of the AMP concentration such that the manipulation of NDPK-A nucleotide trans-phosphorylation activity to generate ATP enhanced the activity of AMPK. This regulation occurred irrespective of the surrounding ATP concentration, suggesting that “substrate channeling” was occurring with the shielding of NDPK-generated ATP from the surrounding medium. We speculated that AMPK α1 phosphorylated NDPK-A during their interaction, and here, we identify two residues on NDPK-A targeted by AMPK α1 in vivo. We find that NDPK-A S122 and S144 are phosphorylated by AMPK α1 and that the phosphorylation status of S122, but not S144, determines whether substrate channeling can occur. We report the cellular effects of the S122 mutation on ACC1 phosphorylation and demonstrate that the presence of E124 (absent in NDPK-B) is necessary and sufficient to permit both AMPK α1 binding and substrate channeling.

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Understanding the Molecular Basis of the Interaction between NDPK-A and AMPK α1

We are grateful to Grahame Hardie, David Carling, Angela Woods, and Marie-Lise Lacombe for constructs, antibodies, and reagents.

We thank the Wellcome Trust (075237/Z/04/Z) and the Cystic Fibrosis Trust (PJ439) for their support. Local university support was provided for K.J.T.

There are no conflicts of interest.