Contraction of rat cardiac myocytes induces translocation of fatty acid translocase (FAT)/CD36 and GLUT4 from intracellular stores to the sarcolemma, leading to enhanced rates of long-chain fatty acid (FA) and glucose uptake, respectively. Because intracellular AMP/ ATP is elevated in contracting cardiac myocytes, we investigated whether activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMP kinase) is involved in contractioninducible FAT/CD36 translocation. The cell-permeable adenosine analog 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1--D-ribofuranoside (AICAR) and the mitochondrial inhibitor oligomycin, similar to 4-Hz electrostimulation, evoked a more than threefold activation of cardiomyocytic AMP kinase. Both AICAR and oligomycin stimulated FA uptake into noncontracting myocytes by 1.4-and 2.0-fold, respectively, but were ineffective in 4 Hz-contracting myocytes. These findings indicate that both agents stimulate FA uptake by a similar mechanism as electrostimulation, involving activation of AMP kinase, as evidenced from phosphorylation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase. Furthermore, the stimulating effects of both AICAR and oligomycin were antagonized by blocking FAT/CD36 with sulfo-N-succinimidylpalmitate, but not by inhibiting phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase with wortmannin, indicating the involvement of FAT/CD36, but excluding a role for insulin signaling. Subcellular fractionation showed that oligomycin was able to mobilize intracellularly stored FAT/CD36 to the sarcolemma. We conclude that AMP kinase regulates cardiac FA use through mobilization of FAT/CD36 from a contractioninducible intracellular storage compartment. Diabetes 52:1627-1634, 2003 F atty acid translocase (FAT)/CD36 is increasingly becoming recognized as a physiologically important long-chain fatty acid (FA) transport facilitator within the sarcolemma of muscle tissues (1-3). We have gathered convincing evidence that FAT/ CD36-mediated FA uptake is a rate-limiting step in FA use by heart and skeletal muscle (2). Moreover, FA uptake appears to be regulated by translocation of FAT/CD36 from intracellular, presumably endosomal, stores to the sarcolemma. Insulin and cellular contractions are two important physiological factors able to recruit FAT/CD36 to the sarcolemma (4 -7). Interestingly, the stimulation of FA uptake by contractions was additive to that of insulin, indicating that both factors operate through independent mechanisms. Furthermore, wortmannin completely blocked insulin-inducible FA uptake but had no effect on contraction-inducible FA uptake. Altogether, these findings indicate that insulin-inducible and contraction-inducible FAT/ CD36 pools are stored in two distinct intracellular sites (7). Strikingly, the effects of insulin and contractions on FA uptake by translocation of FAT/CD36 are remarkably similar to their effects on glucose uptake by translocation of the glucose transporter GLUT4 from insulin-inducible and contraction-inducible intracellular stores (7). Whereas the wortmannin sensitivity of insulin-inducible FA uptake indicates an involveme...