Anxiolytic Drug FGIN-1-27 Ameliorates Autoimmunity by Metabolic Reprogramming of Pathogenic Th17 Cells

Th17 cells are critical drivers of autoimmune diseases and immunopathology. There is an unmet need to develop therapies targeting pathogenic Th17 cells for the treatment of autoimmune disorders. Here, we report that anxiolytic FGIN-1-27 inhibits differentiation and pathogenicity of Th17 cells in vitro and in vivo using the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model of Th17 cell-driven pathology. Remarkably, we found that the effects of FGIN-1-27 were independent of translocator protein (TSPO), the reported target for this small molecule, and instead were driven by a metabolic switch in Th17 cells that led to the induction of the amino acid starvation response and altered cellular fatty acid composition. Our findings suggest that the small molecule FGIN-1-27 can be re-purposed to relieve autoimmunity by metabolic reprogramming of pathogenic Th17 cells.