Cardiomyocyte-specific AMPK double-KO impairs mitochondrial function and performance at high workload

Abstract

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a key regulator of energy homeostasis under conditions of energy stress. Though heart is one of the most energy requiring organs and depends on a perfect match of energy supply with high and fluctuating energy demand to maintain its contractile performance, the role of AMPK in this organ is still not entirely clear, in particular in a non-pathological setting. Here we characterized cardiomyocyte-specific, inducible AMPK α1 and α2 knockout mice (KO), where KO was induced at the age of 8 weeks, and assessed their phenotype under physiological conditions.