LAUSR

Isoniazid (INH) is a first‐line antituberculosis drug that is adversely associated with hepatotoxicity. Recently, impairment of mitochondrial homeostasis involved in this side effect has been noticed. Mitochondrial homeostasis is achieved by the balance between the generation of functional mitochondria by biogenesis and elimination of dysfunctional mitochondria by autophagy. AMP‐activated protein kinase (AMPK) can maintain mitochondrial stability through positive control of these two processes. In this study, we showed that AMPK activator acadesine (AICAR) alleviated INH‐caused impairment of mitochondrial biogenesis by activation of silent information regulator two ortholog 1 (SIRT1)–peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC1 α) pathway in HepG2 cells. However, mitochondrial instability and apoptosis were caused by AICAR along with an unexpected decrease in INH‐induced cytoprotective autophagy. Therefore, AICAR failed to alleviate INH‐caused mitochondrial instability in HepG2 cells due to its inhibitory effect on autophagy induced by INH. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.