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REVIEW article

Front. Pharmacol.

Sec. Pharmacology of Infectious Diseases

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1621590

This article is part of the Research TopicThe Evolution in Pharmacology of Infectious Diseases: 2025View all articles

Broad-Spectrum Therapeutic Potential of 4-Phenylbutyrate in Neurological and Systemic Diseases of Viral and Non-Viral Origin

Provisionally accepted
  • 1UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, CHICAGO, United States
  • 2University of Arizona, Tucson, United States
  • 3University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, United States
  • 4UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO, CHICAGO, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

4-Phenylbutyrate (4-PBA), initially recognized for treating urea cycle disorders, has emerged as a potent therapeutic agent with broad-spectrum potential. As a chemical chaperone, 4-PBA modulates protein folding and reduces endoplasmic reticulum stress. Our group4-PBA has demonstrated, for the first time, its efficacy in treating ocular herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection and HSV-1-induced encephalitis, highlighting its potential as a novel anti-herpetic therapy. Beyond its antiviral properties, 4-PBA's therapeutic reach extends to neurological disorders linked to HSV-1 infection, including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Huntington's diseases, and primary open-angle glaucoma. Furthermore, 4-PBA shows promise in treating a diverse array of conditions beyond neurology. Its potential has been explored in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), atherosclerosis, Adriamycin-induced cardiac injury, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, rifamycin-induced liver injury, chronic kidney disease, diabetic nephropathy, NSAID-induced kidney injury, and chronic wound healing. This review synthesizes the multifaceted therapeutic potential of 4-PBA, emphasizing its role as a broad-spectrum agent capable of addressing a wide range of pathological conditions, particularly its role in combating HSV-1 and associated neurological disorders. The growing evidence suggests that 4-PBA may be a versatile and valuable addition to the therapeutic arsenal against multiple diseases.

Keywords: 4-Phenylbutyrate (4-PBA), Herpes Simplex Virus, neurological disorders, Broadspectrum, therapeutic

Received: 01 May 2025; Accepted: 08 Aug 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Bobat, Wu, Tu, Kapoor, Sharma, Adams, Orameh, Yadavalli, Date and Shukla. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Deepak Shukla, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, United States

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