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Visit our Expo - Redox and Inflammation signaling 2012

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Session XVII : Cell <strong>signaling</strong> in health <strong>and</strong> disease Poster XVII, 55<br />

PI3 kinase inhibition provides a novel mechanism for the action of valproic acid<br />

Xuehua Xu1, Helmut Kae2, Annette Müller-Taubenberger3, Kathryn Adley4, Nadine<br />

Pawolleck5, Vivian Lee6, Talvinder Sihra6, Claudia Wiedemann7, Gerry Weeks2, Jan<br />

Faix8, Markus Maniak5, Tian Jin1 <strong>and</strong> Robin S.B. Williams4<br />

1. Chemotaxis Signal Sect, NIAID, Rockville, MD20852, USA. TJIN@niaid.nih.gov.<br />

2. Microbiol. Immunol. UBC, Vancouver, V6T1Z3, Canada. weeks@ciml.univ-mrs.fr.<br />

3. M-Plank Biochem, LRZ, Munich, 80336, Germany. amueller@lrz.uni-muenchen.de.<br />

4. Dept Biol <strong>and</strong> WIBR, UCL, London, WC1E 6BT, UK. robin.williams@ucl.ac.uk.<br />

5. Inst Cell Bio, University of Kasse, Kassel, 34132, Germany. maniak@uni-kassel.de.<br />

6. Dept Pharmacol., UCL, London, WC1E6BT, UK. t.sihra@ucl.ac.uk.<br />

7. Mol Cell Bio, UCL Med. School, NW32PF, UK. c.wiedemann@medsch.ucl.ac.uk.<br />

8. Hanover Med School, Hanover, D-30623, Germany. hans@imap.bpc.mh-hannover.de.<br />

Valproic acid (VPA, 2 propyl pentanoic acid) is a short chain fatty acid that was accidentally<br />

found to be an effective treatment for epilepsy in 1962, <strong>and</strong> is now also used to treat bipolar<br />

disorder <strong>and</strong> migraine, <strong>and</strong> is undergoing trials for cancer therapy. Despite its wide use, the<br />

therapeutic targets of VPA are not clear. We have identified an effect of VPA in blocking<br />

chemotaxis, a process controlled by phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) signalling, using the<br />

social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum. In this model, we show that VPA attenuates PI3K<br />

activity by inhibiting signal-induced PIP3 production, that both VPA <strong>and</strong> a PI3K inhibitor<br />

reverse the phenotype of activated Rac1A, reduce Ras activation <strong>and</strong> VPA also inhibits<br />

vesicle trafficking. These results suggest that VPA functions through the reduction of PIP3<br />

production to modulate downstream effectors including small GTPases <strong>and</strong> vesicle release.<br />

To examine the therapeutic potential of this effect, we show that the human PI3Kgamma<br />

enzyme is weakly but directly inhibited by VPA <strong>and</strong> that both VPA <strong>and</strong> a PI3K inhibitor<br />

suppress depolarization-dependent neurotransmitter release in purified rat nerve terminals.<br />

These results thus suggest that VPA may function to reduce PI3K activity as a therapeutic<br />

mechanism for the treatment of epilepsy, bipolar disorder, migraine, <strong>and</strong> cancer.<br />

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