Insufficient nutrients disrupt physiological homeostasis, resulting in diseases and even death. Considering the physiological and pathological consequences of this metabolic stress, the adaptive responses that cells utilize under this condition are of great interest. We show that under low-glucose conditions, cells initiate adaptation followed by apoptosis responses using PERK/Akt and MEK1/ERK2 signaling, respectively. For adaptation, cells engage the ER stress-induced unfolded protein response, which results in PERK/Akt activation and cell survival. Sustained and extreme energetic stress promotes a switch to isoform-specific MEK1/ERK2 signaling, induction of GCN2/eIF2α phosphorylation, and ATF4 expression, which overrides PERK/Akt-mediated adaptation and induces apoptosis through ATF4-dependent expression of pro-apoptotic factors including Bid and Trb3. ERK2 activation during metabolic stress contributes to changes in TCA cycle and amino acid metabolism, and cell death, which is suppressed by glutamate and α-ketoglutarate supplementation. Taken together, our results reveal promising targets to protect cells or tissues from metabolic stress.
