Reversion of the maple syrup urine disease phenotype of impaired branched chain α-ketoacid dehydrogenase complex activity in fibroblasts from an affected child

Branched chain α-ketoacid dehydrogenase is a heteroprotein complex of mitochondria and commits the branched chain α-ketoacids to their catabolic fate. Inherited nuclear mutations in humans decrease the activity of this complex and result in maple syrup urine disease. Here we demonstrate the restoration of branched chain α-ketoacid dehydrogenase activity to fibroblasts from a child with this disorder by transfection with a cDNA for the prebranched chain acyltransferase. Prior to transfection these fibroblasts contained the prebranched chain acyltransferase gene but failed to transcribe the gene and thus lacked the protein. Regulation of the restored complex by phosphorylation mechanisms resembles that of wild-type cells. These results describe a human cell modeling system for testing engineered proteins and support the possibility of gene replacement therapy for this human disorder.