A critical role of AMP‐activated protein kinase in regulating intestinal nutrient absorption, barrier function, and intestinal diseases

Abstract

As one of the most important organs in animals, the intestine is responsible for nutrient absorption and acts as a barrier between the body and the environment. Intestinal physiology and function require the participation of energy. 5′‐adenosine monophosphate‐activated protein kinase (AMPK), a classical and highly expressed energy regulator in intestinal cells, regulates the process of nutrient absorption and barrier function and is also involved in the therapy of intestinal diseases. Studies have yielded findings that AMPK regulates the absorption of glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids in the intestine primarily by regulating transportation systems, as we detailed here. Moreover, AMPK is involved in the regulation of the intestinal mechanical barrier and immune barrier through manipulating the expression of tight junctions, antimicrobial peptides, and secretory immunoglobulins. In addition, AMPK also participates in the regulation of intestinal diseases, which indicates that AMPK is a promising therapeutic target for intestinal diseases and cancer. In this review, we summarized the current understanding regarding how AMPK regulates intestinal nutrient absorption, barrier function, and intestinal diseases.

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“…Lipids can permeate through the brush border's permeable barrier or be taken up by intestinal cells through proteins like CD36 and Frontiers in Pharmacology frontiersin.org fatty acid-binding proteins (FABP) (Sallee and Dietschy, 1973;Xu et al, 2021). Furthermore, intestinal lipid absorption and intestinal barrier function are jointly regulated by multiple pathways (Wu et al, 2022). For instance, the activation of intestinal group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3) can efficiently optimize and control the efficiency of lipid absorption in the intestine while safeguarding the intestinal barrier (Talbot et al, 2020).…”

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