AMP-activated protein kinase impairs endothelial actin cytoskeleton assembly by phosphorylating vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein

Vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) is an actin regulatory protein that links signaling pathways to remodeling of the cytoskeleton. VASP functions are modulated by protein kinases, which phosphorylate the sites Ser-157, Ser-239, and Thr-278. The kinase responsible for Thr-278 phosphorylation, biological functions of the phosphorylation, and association with disease states have remained enigmatic. Using VASP phosphorylation status-specific antibodies, we identified AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a serine-threonine kinase and fundamental sensor of energy homeostasis, in a screen for kinases that phosphorylate the Thr-278 site of VASP in endothelial cells. Pharmacological AMPK inhibitors and activators and AMPK mutants revealed that the kinase specifically targets residue Thr-278 but not Ser-157 or Ser-239. Quantitative fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis and serum response factor transcriptional reporter assays, which quantify the cellular F-/G-actin equilibrium, indicated that AMPK-mediated VASP phosphorylation impaired actin stress fiber formation and altered cell morphology. In the Zucker Diabetic Fatty (ZDF) rat model for type II diabetes, AMPK activity and Thr-278 phosphorylation were substantially reduced in arterial vessel walls. These findings suggest that VASP is a new AMPK substrate, that VASP Thr-278 phosphorylation translates metabolic signals into actin cytoskeleton rearrangements, and that this signaling system becomes down-regulated in diabetic vessels.