RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Role of Isovaleryl-CoA Dehydrogenase and Short Branched-Chain Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase in the Metabolism of Valproic Acid: Implications for the Branched-Chain Amino Acid Oxidation Pathway JF Drug Metabolism and Disposition JO Drug Metab Dispos FD American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics SP 1155 OP 1160 DO 10.1124/dmd.110.037606 VO 39 IS 7 A1 Paula B. M. Luís A1 Jos P. N. Ruiter A1 Lodewijk IJlst A1 Isabel Tavares de Almeida A1 Marinus Duran A1 Al-Walid Mohsen A1 Jerry Vockley A1 Ronald J. A. Wanders A1 Margarida F. B. Silva YR 2011 UL http://dmd.aspetjournals.org/content/39/7/1155.abstract AB Many biological systems including the oxidative catabolic pathway for branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are affected in vivo by valproate therapy. In this study, we investigated the potential effect of valproic acid (VPA) and some of its metabolites on the metabolism of BCAAs. In vitro studies were performed using isovaleryl-CoA dehydrogenase (IVD), isobutyryl-CoA dehydrogenase (IBD), and short branched-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (SBCAD), enzymes involved in the degradation pathway of leucine, valine, and isoleucine. The enzymatic activities of the three purified human enzymes were measured using optimized high-performance liquid chromatography procedures, and the respective kinetic parameters were determined in the absence and presence of VPA and the corresponding CoA and dephosphoCoA conjugates. Valproyl-CoA and valproyl-dephosphoCoA inhibited IVD activity significantly by a purely competitive mechanism with Ki values of 74 ± 4 and 170 ± 12 μM, respectively. IBD activity was not affected by any of the tested VPA esters. However, valproyl-CoA did inhibit SBCAD activity by a purely competitive mechanism with a Ki of 249 ± 29 μM. In addition, valproyl-dephosphoCoA inhibited SBCAD activity via a distinct mechanism (Ki = 511 ± 96 μM) that appeared to be of the mixed type. Furthermore, we show that both SBCAD and IVD are active, using valproyl-CoA as a substrate. The catalytic efficiency of SBCAD turned out to be much higher than that of IVD, demonstrating that SBCAD is the most probable candidate for the first dehydrogenation step of VPA β-oxidation. Our data explain some of the effects of valproate on the branched-chain amino acid metabolism and shed new light on the biotransformation pathway of valproate.