The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) system is a regulator of energy balance at both the cellular and whole-body levels that, once activated by low energy status, effects a switch from ATP-consuming anabolic pathways to ATP-producing catabolic pathways. It now appears to be the major target for two existing classes of drug used to treat type 2 diabetes, i.e., the biguanides and thiazolidinediones. However, in both cases these activate AMPK indirectly, and an interesting question concerns whether a drug that directly activated AMPK would retain the therapeutic benefits of the existing drugs while eliminating unwanted side effects. AMPK activators also now have potential as anticancer drugs.

中文翻译：

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AMP激活的蛋白激酶作为药物靶标。

AMP激活的蛋白激酶（AMPK）系统是细胞和全身水平的能量平衡调节剂，一旦被低能量状态激活，就会实现从消耗ATP的合成代谢途径向产生ATP的分解代谢途径的转换。现在看来，它是用于治疗2型糖尿病的两种现有药物的主要目标，即双胍类和噻唑烷二酮类。但是，在这两种情况下，它们都间接激活AMPK，一个有趣的问题是，直接激活AMPK的药物是否会保留现有药物的治疗益处，同时消除不良副作用。AMPK激活剂现在也具有作为抗癌药的潜力。