
Longze Sha # 1 2 3, Yanbing Wang # 1, Peixin Meng 1, Yu Deng 1, Ting Chen 4, Xiuneng Zhang 1, Yousong Ye 3 5, Qi Xu 6 7
Nat Chem Biol. 2025 Nov;21(11):1742-1753.
PMID: 40456963 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-025-01920-5
Abstract
Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is the most common type of drug-resistant epilepsy. Lowering the levels of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) ligands has been suggested as a promising therapeutic strategy for TLE. D-Serine gates synaptic NMDARs in the hippocampus but the effect of D-serine on seizure activity remains poorly understood. Here, we show that serine levels in the hippocampus were increased in persons with TLE and in a mouse model of TLE. Eliminating D-serine or blocking its binding with NMDARs suppressed seizures in mouse models. Astrocyte-derived L-serine was found to regulate interstitial D-serine levels and seizure activity through a process controlled by phosphoserine phosphatase (PSPH). We identified a potent PSPH inhibitor, Z218484536, and found that its systemic administration reduced spontaneous epileptic discharges in mouse and cynomolgus monkey models of TLE. Overall, these results indicate that PSPH is a promising therapeutic target for TLE and support further preclinical studies of Z218484536.