Unraveling 4‐Phenylbutyrate's Therapeutic Role in SLC6A1 Disorders: Pharmacochaperoning Over HDAC Inhibition

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Autori principali: Melissa B. DeLeeuw, Karishma Randhave, Ekta Anand, Ziang (Debbie) Song, Wangzhen Shen, Jing‐Qiong Kang
Natura: Artículo Open Access
Pubblicazione: Wiley 2026
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author Melissa B. DeLeeuw
Karishma Randhave
Ekta Anand
Ziang (Debbie) Song
Wangzhen Shen
Jing‐Qiong Kang
author_facet Melissa B. DeLeeuw
Karishma Randhave
Ekta Anand
Ziang (Debbie) Song
Wangzhen Shen
Jing‐Qiong Kang
Melissa B. DeLeeuw
Karishma Randhave
Ekta Anand
Ziang (Debbie) Song
Wangzhen Shen
Jing‐Qiong Kang
collection Wiley Open Access
contents Unraveling 4‐Phenylbutyrate's Therapeutic Role in SLC6A1 Disorders: Pharmacochaperoning Over HDAC Inhibition Melissa B. DeLeeuw Karishma Randhave Ekta Anand Ziang (Debbie) Song Wangzhen Shen Jing‐Qiong Kang Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology ABSTRACT Objective Variants in SLC6A1 , encoding the GABA transporter 1 (GAT‐1), cause epilepsy, autism spectrum disorder, and developmental delay via loss of GABA uptake, impaired trafficking, and ER retention. We previously found that 4‐Phenylbutyrate (PBA), an FDA‐approved drug, restores GABA uptake and reduces seizures in SLC6A1 ‐related disorders, prompting a phase I clinical trial (NCT04937062) primarily designed to evaluate safety and tolerability of Ravicti (PBA). However, its exact mechanism, pharmacochaperoning or histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibition, remains unclear. This study compares PBA with pharmacochaperones and HDAC inhibitors to determine how it restores GAT‐1 function in the cell and mouse models. Methods We evaluated the function for 32 SLC6A1 variants and two representative mouse models at baseline and various treatment options using 3 H GABA uptake assays. We evaluated the effect of PBA in comparison with other chaperone inducers or HDAC inhibitors on the mutant and the wild‐type GAT‐1 expression. Importantly, we evaluated the effect of chaperone inducers and HDAC inhibitors on GAT‐1 function and seizures in two representative knock‐in mouse models, Slc6a1 +/A288V and Slc6a1 +/S295L , with EEG recordings. Results PBA restored GABA uptake and GAT‐1 surface expression across all variants, and TUDCA mimicked the effects of PBA. HDAC inhibitors exhibited modest rescue in vitro but failed to restore GAT‐1 function or mitigate seizures in the knockin mice. Interpretation PBA acts as a pharmacochaperone, not an HDAC inhibitor, to restore GAT‐1 function and reduce seizure burden in the diseased mice, supporting pharmacochaperoning as the major mechanism for rescuing SLC6A1 ‐related disorders. 10.1002/acn3.70430 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
doi_str_mv 10.1002/acn3.70430
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spellingShingle Unraveling 4‐Phenylbutyrate's Therapeutic Role in SLC6A1 Disorders: Pharmacochaperoning Over HDAC Inhibition
Melissa B. DeLeeuw
Karishma Randhave
Ekta Anand
Ziang (Debbie) Song
Wangzhen Shen
Jing‐Qiong Kang
Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology
Unraveling 4‐Phenylbutyrate's Therapeutic Role in SLC6A1 Disorders: Pharmacochaperoning Over HDAC Inhibition Melissa B. DeLeeuw Karishma Randhave Ekta Anand Ziang (Debbie) Song Wangzhen Shen Jing‐Qiong Kang Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology ABSTRACT Objective Variants in SLC6A1 , encoding the GABA transporter 1 (GAT‐1), cause epilepsy, autism spectrum disorder, and developmental delay via loss of GABA uptake, impaired trafficking, and ER retention. We previously found that 4‐Phenylbutyrate (PBA), an FDA‐approved drug, restores GABA uptake and reduces seizures in SLC6A1 ‐related disorders, prompting a phase I clinical trial (NCT04937062) primarily designed to evaluate safety and tolerability of Ravicti (PBA). However, its exact mechanism, pharmacochaperoning or histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibition, remains unclear. This study compares PBA with pharmacochaperones and HDAC inhibitors to determine how it restores GAT‐1 function in the cell and mouse models. Methods We evaluated the function for 32 SLC6A1 variants and two representative mouse models at baseline and various treatment options using 3 H GABA uptake assays. We evaluated the effect of PBA in comparison with other chaperone inducers or HDAC inhibitors on the mutant and the wild‐type GAT‐1 expression. Importantly, we evaluated the effect of chaperone inducers and HDAC inhibitors on GAT‐1 function and seizures in two representative knock‐in mouse models, Slc6a1 +/A288V and Slc6a1 +/S295L , with EEG recordings. Results PBA restored GABA uptake and GAT‐1 surface expression across all variants, and TUDCA mimicked the effects of PBA. HDAC inhibitors exhibited modest rescue in vitro but failed to restore GAT‐1 function or mitigate seizures in the knockin mice. Interpretation PBA acts as a pharmacochaperone, not an HDAC inhibitor, to restore GAT‐1 function and reduce seizure burden in the diseased mice, supporting pharmacochaperoning as the major mechanism for rescuing SLC6A1 ‐related disorders. 10.1002/acn3.70430 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Unraveling 4‐Phenylbutyrate's Therapeutic Role in SLC6A1 Disorders: Pharmacochaperoning Over HDAC Inhibition
topic Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology
url https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/acn3.70430