PRKAB1 and cancer: Thereby, AMPK inhibits several cellular processes also important for tumour development such as fatty acid and protein synthesis2, and several AMPK activators including the 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-β-D-ribofuranoside (AICAR)3, 4, metformin5 and A769662 (ref. 6) have been reported to inhibit cancer cell growth.