Fig. 2

Cross effects of AMPK and AKT on the cellular metabolism and redox state: The targeted proteins regulated by AMPK and AKT and their regulatory effects are depicted, AMPK is a key player in response to metabolic stress by regulating the metabolism of glucose, lipid and protein. AMPK promotes glucose uptake and glycolysis, facilitating antioxidant production. AMPK also stimulates fatty acid oxidation and limits the fatty acid synthesis. mTOR and FOXO are two main downstream effectors of AMPK. AMPK inhibits mTOR activity, which induces protein synthesis inhibition and autophagy activation. AMPK also promotes FOXO activity to maintain the redox balance through enhanced antioxidant production and glucose metabolism. On the other side, AKT exerts antagonistic effect to regulate mTOR and FOXO activity. AKT stimulates mTOR signaling to promote glucose metabolism and protein synthesis, leading to increased ROS production. Meanwhile, it inhibits FOXO activity and renders cells susceptible to ROS toxicity