Combining valosin-containing protein (VCP) inhibition and suberanilohydroxamic acid (SAHA) treatment additively enhances the folding, trafficking, and function of epilepsy-associated γ-aminobutyric acid, type A (GABAA) receptors.

GABAA receptors are the primary inhibitory ion channels in the mammalian central nervous system. The A322D mutation in the α1 subunit results in its excessive endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation at the expense of plasma membrane trafficking, leading to autosomal dominant juvenile myoclonic epilepsy. Presumably, valosin-containing protein (VCP)/p97 extracts misfolded subunits from the endoplasmic reticulum membrane to the cytosolic proteasome for degradation. Here we showed that inhibiting VCP using Eeyarestatin I reduces the endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation of the α1(A322D) subunit without an apparent effect on its dynamin-1 dependent endocytosis and that this treatment enhances its trafficking. Furthermore, coapplication of Eeyarestatin I and suberanilohydroxamic acid, a known small molecule that promotes chaperone-assisted folding, yields an additive restoration of surface expression of α1(A322D) subunits in HEK293 cells and neuronal SH-SY5Y cells. Consequently, this combination significantly increases GABA-induced chloride currents in whole-cell patch clamping experiments than either chemical compound alone in HEK293 cells. Our findings suggest that VCP inhibition without stress induction, together with folding enhancement, represents a new strategy to restore proteostasis of misfolding-prone GABAA receptors and, therefore, a potential remedy for idiopathic epilepsy.