The antiepileptic drug valproic acid and other medium-chain fatty acids acutely reduce phosphoinositide levels independently of inositol in Dictyostelium

  • Pishan Chang
  • , Benoit Orabi
  • , Rania M. Deranieh
  • , Manik Dham
  • , Oliver Hoeller
  • , Jakob A. Shimshoni
  • , Boris Yagen
  • , Meir Bialer
  • , Miriam L. Greenberg
  • , Matthew C. Walker
  • , Robin S.B. Williams*
  • *Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

69 Scopus citations

Abstract

Valproic acid (VPA) is the most widely prescribed epilepsy treatment worldwide, but its mechanism of action remains unclear. Our previous work identified a previously unknown effect of VPA in reducing phosphoinositide production in the simple model Dictyostelium followed by the transfer of data to a mammalian synaptic release model. In our current study, we show that the reduction in phosphoinositide [PtdInsP (also known as PIP) and PtdInsP 2 (also known as PIP 2)] production caused by VPA is acute and dose dependent, and that this effect occurs independently of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) activity, inositol recycling and inositol synthesis. In characterising the structural requirements for this effect, we also identify a family of medium-chain fatty acids that show increased efficacy compared with VPA. Within the group of active compounds is a little-studied group previously associated with seizure control, and analysis of two of these compounds (nonanoic acid and 4-methyloctanoic acid) shows around a threefold enhanced potency compared with VPA for protection in an in vitro acute rat seizure model. Together, our data show that VPA and a newly identified group of medium-chain fatty acids reduce phosphoinositide levels independently of inositol regulation, and suggest the reinvestigation of these compounds as treatments for epilepsy.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)115-124
Number of pages10
JournalDMM Disease Models and Mechanisms
Volume5
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2012

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The antiepileptic drug valproic acid and other medium-chain fatty acids acutely reduce phosphoinositide levels independently of inositol in Dictyostelium'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this