Epigenetic orchestrator and drug enhancer: dual roles of butyrate in regulating post-translational modification and optimizing therapeutic delivery

Butyrate, a four-carbon short-chain fatty acid produced by gut microbiota, has been widely recognized for its diverse physiological benefits. Functioning as a natural HDAC inhibitor, it critically modulates various protein post-translational modifications (PTMs). The endogenous transport systems mediating butyrate absorption provide a promising platform for developing butyrate-modified drugs with enhanced bioavailability and tissue targeting. Here, we offer a concise overview of butyrate’s production, transport, and metabolism, focusing on its role in regulating PTMs and the potential therapeutic applications of butyrate transporters in drug delivery. Building on current butyrate modification strategies, we also review its applications in drug formulation enhancement and synergistic therapeutic combinations. In summary, butyrate can function as a natural modulator of specific PTMs and as a drug modifier enhancing therapeutic delivery.

• Publication year

  2025

• Venue

  Cell Communication and Signaling

• Publication date

  2025-11-20

• Fields of study

  Medicine, Chemistry

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1186/s12964-025-02520-5PMID 41267129PMCID 12632102
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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