AMPK

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling provides a key cellular regulatory system that maintains the balance between energy consumption and production. The heterotrimeric AMPK complex comprising catalytic (α) and regulatory (β and γ) subunits responds to reduced glucose levels by inducing the evolutionarily conserved catabolic process, autophagy, which recycles cytoplasmic content. The protective roles of autophagy induction against a variety of diseases, such as neurodegeneration, has made AMPK activation a promising strategy for therapeutic treatment of various diseases. In this chapter, we describe how AMPK can be induced and how this activates different components of the autophagic machinery. We then review various classes of AMPK activators and the evidence for their capacity to induce autophagy and ameliorate aggregate-prone protein accumulation in cellular and animal models of neurodegeneration.