Background: Excessive activation of enzyme poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) causes ATP depletion and kills cells. Results: We found that in the absence of glucose PARP-1 triggers an adenylate kinase-dependent increase of ATP. Conclusion: PARP-1 hyperactivation is not invariantly related to ATP loss. Significance: This study adds to the complexity of PARP-1 hyperactivity and energy derangement.Massive poly(ADP-ribose) formation by poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) triggers NAD depletion and cell death. These events have been invariantly related to cellular energy failure due to ATP shortage. The latter occurs because of both ATP consumption for NAD resynthesis and impairment of mitochondrial ATP formation caused by an increase of the AMP/ADP ratio. ATP depletion is therefore thought to be an inevitable consequence of NAD loss and a hallmark of PARP-1 activation. Here, we challenge this scenario by showing that PARP-1 hyperactivation in cells cultured in the absence of glucose (Glu ؊ cells) is followed by NAD depletion and an unexpected PARP-1 activity-dependent ATP increase. We found increased ADP content in resting Glu ؊ cells, a condition that counteracts the increase of the AMP/ADP ratio during hyperpoly(ADP-ribosyl)ation and preserves mitochondrial coupling. We also show that the increase of ATP in Glu ؊ cells is due to adenylate kinase activity, transforming AMP into ADP which, in turn, is converted into ATP by coupled mitochondria. Interestingly, PARP-1-dependent mitochondrial release of apoptosisinducing factor (AIF) and cytochrome complex (Cyt c) is reduced in Glu ؊ cells, even though cell death eventually occurs.Overall, the present study identifies basal ADP content and adenylate kinase as key determinants of bioenergetics during PARP-1 hyperactivation and unequivocally demonstrates that ATP loss is not metabolically related to NAD depletion.Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation is a post-translational modification of proteins operated by poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs) 2 (1). PARP-1, the oldest and best characterized member of the PARP family, is a nuclear enzyme converting NAD into polymers of poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR) that regulate chromatin-interacting proteins through steric hindrance and electrostatic repulsion (2). By so doing, the enzyme plays a key role in various nuclear process involved in maintenance of nuclear homeostasis such as DNA repair and epigenetic regulation of gene expression (3-5). Somehow paradoxically, besides this pleiotypic physiological role, PARP-1 is a powerful trigger of cell death (6, 7). This occurs when the enzymes undergo hyperactivation because of extensive DNA damage. PARP-1-dependent cell death was originally described as a necrotic process (8, 9), but an involvement of PARP-1 in apoptosis (10) and autophagy (11) has also been reported. In keeping with the central role of the enzyme in cell demise, chemical inhibitors of PARP-1 exert widespread cytoprotection in disparate in vitro and in vivo disease models (12). It has been proposed that intracellular NAD depletion a...