Objective
We discovered that phenylbutyrate, prevents both in vitro and in vivo the inactivation by phosphorylation of the branched chain ketoacid dehydrogenase complex (BCKDC) and pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHC). We show that phenylbutyrate is effective for treatment of maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) due to deficiency of branched chain ketoacid dehydrogenase complex (BCKDC), and has potential for therapy of deficiency of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHC). We propose to investigate phenylbutyrate for PDHC deficiency in a zebrafish model and in PDHC-deficient patients. We have recently developed a systems biology tool for prediction of drug mode of action starting from their gene expression profiles. This tool has a significant potential for drug discovery and repositioning. Through this approach, we found several FDA-approved drugs sharing with phenylbutyrate a similar mode of action. We propose to investigate the efficacy of these drugs for increasing the enzymatic activity of both BCKDC and PDHC and their therapeutic potential. While useful for proof-of-concept studies animal models are not suited to predict patient response to drugs which depends upon multiple factors including type of mutation and affected enzyme subunit. We propose to develop PDHC deficient neurons and MSUD hepatocytes from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from patients’ fibroblasts. Drug response in these disease-relevant cell types will better predict clinical response of patients. Human iPSCs will be generated through a novel system based on high cloning capacity, non-integrating helper-dependent adenoviral (HDAd) vector expressing a combination of reprogramming factors. We will investigate altered metabolic pathways in PDHC deficient neurons and MSUD hepatocytes to search for effective drugs by an innovative systems biology approach. In summary, the results of the proposed study have the potential to provide novel and effective treatments for MSUD and PDHC deficiency.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug discovery
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology cells technologies stem cells
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics mutation
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2012-StG_20111109
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Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
00185 ROMA
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.