New insights into tetrahydrobiopterin pharmacodynamics from Pahenu1/2, a mouse model for compound heterozygous tetrahydrobiopterin-responsive phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency

Phenylketonuria (PKU), an autosomal recessive disease with phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) deficiency, was recently shown to be a protein misfolding disease with loss-of-function. It can be treated by oral application of the natural PAH cofactor tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) that acts as a pharmacological chaperone and rescues enzyme function in vivo. Here we identified Pahenu1/2 bearing a mild and a severe mutation (V106A/F363S) as a new mouse model for compound heterozygous mild PKU. Although BH4 treatment has become established in clinical routine, there is substantial lack of knowledge with regard to BH4 pharmacodynamics and the effect of the genotype on the response to treatment with the natural cofactor. To address these questions we applied an elaborate methodological setup analyzing: (i) blood phenylalanine elimination, (ii) blood phenylalanine/tyrosine ratios, and (iii) kinetics of in vivo phenylalanine oxidation using 13C-phenylalanine breath tests. We compared pharmacodynamics in wild-type, Pahenu1/1, and Pahenu1/2 mice and observed crucial differences in terms of effect size as well as effect kinetics and dose response. Results from in vivo experiments were substantiated in vitro after overexpression of wild-type, V106A, and F263S in COS-7 cells. Pharmacokinetics did not differ between Pahenu1/1 and Pahenu1/2 indicating that the differences in pharmacodynamics were not induced by divergent pharmacokinetic behavior of BH4. In conclusion, our findings show a significant impact of the genotype on the response to BH4 in PAH deficient mice. This may lead to important consequences concerning the diagnostic and therapeutic management of patients with PAH deficiency underscoring the need for individualized procedures addressing pharmacodynamic aspects.

Pahenu1/2 is a mouse model for compound heterozygous phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency and the pharmacological chaperone 6R-l-erythro-5,6,7,8-tetrahydrobiopterin rescues in vivo enzyme activity in Pahenu1/1 and in Pahenu1/2 but shows genotype-specific pharmacodynamics.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide