Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40923315›Full record

ArticleJCI insight2025

Dissecting the effect of mitochondrial BCAT inhibition in methylmalonic acidemia.

Madeline G Hemmingsen, Guo-Fang Zhang, Yunhan Ma, Hannah Marchuk, Kalyani R Patel, Tong Chen, Xinning Li, Mark Chapman, Sabrina Collias, Dolores H Lopez-Terrada and 10 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JCI insight, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

20 authors.

Madeline G HemmingsenAlice and Y. T. Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics.
Guo-Fang ZhangDuke Molecular Physiology Institute and Sarah W. Stedman Nutrition and Metabolism Center; and.
Yunhan MaAlice and Y. T. Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics.
Hannah MarchukDuke Molecular Physiology Institute and Sarah W. Stedman Nutrition and Metabolism Center; and.
Kalyani R PatelDepartment of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA.
Tong ChenAlice and Y. T. Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics.
Xinning LiAlice and Y. T. Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics.
Mark ChapmanOmniAb Inc., Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Sabrina ColliasAlice and Y. T. Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics.
Dolores H Lopez-TerradaDepartment of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA.
James BeasleyAlice and Y. T. Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics.
Ashlee R StilesAlice and Y. T. Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics.
Randy J ChandlerNational Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Charles P VendittiNational Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Sarah P YoungAlice and Y. T. Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics.
Mercedes BarziAlice and Y. T. Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics.
Beatrice Bissig-ChoisatAlice and Y. T. Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics.
Doug KrafteOmniAb Inc., Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Christopher B NewgardDuke Molecular Physiology Institute and Sarah W. Stedman Nutrition and Metabolism Center; and.
Karl-Dimiter BissigAlice and Y. T. Chen Center for Genetics and Genomics, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Methylmalonic acidemia (MMA) is a severe metabolic disorder affecting multiple organs because of a distal block in branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) catabolism. Standard of care is limited to protein restriction and supportive care during metabolic decompensation. Severe cases require liver/kidney transplantation, and there is a clear need for better therapy. Here, we investigated the effects of a small molecule branched-chain amino acid transaminase (BCAT) inhibitor in human MMA hepatocytes and an MMA mouse model. Mitochondrial BCAT is the first step in BCAA catabolism, and reduction of flux through an early enzymatic step is successfully used in other amino acid metabolic disorders. Metabolic flux analyses confirmed robust BCAT inhibition, with reduction of labeling of proximal and distal BCAA-derived metabolites in MMA hepatocytes. In vivo experiments verified the BCAT inhibition, but total levels of distal BCAA catabolite disease markers and clinical symptoms were not normalized, indicating contributions of substrates other than BCAA to these distal metabolite pools. Our study demonstrates the importance of understanding the underlying pathology of metabolic disorders for identification of therapeutic targets and the use of multiple, complementary models to evaluate them.

Indexed as

Amino Acid Metabolism, Inborn ErrorsMitochondriaTransaminasesAmino Acids, Branched-ChainAnimalsDisease Models, AnimalFemaleHepatocytesHumansMaleMiceAmino Acids, Branched-Chainbranched-chain-amino-acid transaminaseTransaminasesAmino acid metabolismGeneticsMetabolism

Identifiers

PMID40923315
PMCPMC12487681

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.