PRKAA2 and cancer: In fact, 3 decades later, AMPK is considered the principal (and probably sole) energy sensor in eukaryotic cells, a concept that has been extended to a more global view in which AMPK has a wide range of effects at the cellular and whole-body levels, regulating, besides metabolism, cell growth, mitosis, apoptosis, cell polarity, autophagy, inflammation, immune function and cancer (4, 9, 10, 11).