AMPK activator O304 protects against kidney aging through promoting energy metabolism and autophagy

Energy homeostasis plays a key role in retarding aging, and mitochondria are responsible for energy production.AMPK plays a central role in maintaining energy homeostasis and mitochondrial homeostasis, and commands autophagy, a clearing and recycling process to maintain cellular homeostasis. However, the effect of AMPK activators on kidney aging has not been fully elucidated. We testified the effects of O304, a novel direct AMPK activator, in naturally aging mice model and D-galactose (D-gal)-treated renal tubular cell culture. We identified that O304 perfectly protects against cellular senescence and aged-related fibrosis in kidneys. Also, O304 restored energy metabolism, promoted autophagy, and preserved mitochondrial homeostasis. Transcriptomic sequencing also proved that O304 induced fatty acid metabolism, mitochondrial biogenesis and ATP process, and downregulated cell aging, DNA damage response and collagen organization. All these results suggest that O304 has a strong potential to retard aged kidney injury through regulating AMPK-induced multiple pathways. Overall design: naturally aging mice model and Human proximal tubular epithelial cells (HKC-8)