Figure 1.Clinical and pathologic significance of the protective role of AMPK in the epithelium during stress. Schematic showing the time line of publications on the topic of AMPK and cell-cell junctions, as determined by a PubMed search in 2016, and their relationship to the recently published work by Aznar et al. [34]. Top: Clinical and pathological significance of pharmacologic activation of AMPK, either by the widely prescribed anti-diabetic drug, Metformin (green) or by other nutritional / dietary supplements (grey) in the regulation of tight junction stability and function. Bottom: Time line of publications unraveling the role of AMPK in the regulation of epithelial tight junctions and in the establishment of cell polarity.
