GnRH replacement rescues cognition in Down syndrome.

At the present time, no viable treatment exists for cognitive and olfactory deficits in Down syndrome (DS). We show in a DS model (Ts65Dn mice) that these progressive nonreproductive neurological symptoms closely parallel a postpubertal decrease in hypothalamic as well as extrahypothalamic expression of a master molecule that controls reproduction-gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)-and appear related to an imbalance in a microRNA-gene network known to regulate GnRH neuron maturation together with altered hippocampal synaptic transmission. Epigenetic, cellular, chemogenetic, and pharmacological interventions that restore physiological GnRH levels abolish olfactory and cognitive defects in Ts65Dn mice, whereas pulsatile GnRH therapy improves cognition and brain connectivity in adult DS patients. GnRH thus plays a crucial role in olfaction and cognition, and pulsatile GnRH therapy holds promise to improve cognitive deficits in DS.

Pathological changes induced by Alzheimer's brain inoculation in amyloid-beta plaque-bearing mice.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by intracerebral accumulations of extracellular amyloid-ß (Aß) plaques and intracellular tau pathology that spread in the brain. Three types of tau lesions occur in the form of neuropil threads, neurofibrillary tangles, and neuritic plaques i.e. tau aggregates within neurites surrounding Aß deposits. The cascade of events linking these lesions and synaptic or memory impairments are still debated. Intracerebral infusion of human AD brain extracts in Aß plaque-bearing mice that do not overexpress pathological tau proteins induces tau pathologies following heterotopic seeding of mouse tau protein. There is however little information regarding the downstream events including synaptic or cognitive repercussions of tau pathology induction in these models. In the present study, human AD brain extracts (ADbe) and control-brain extracts (Ctrlbe) were infused into the hippocampus of Aß plaque-bearing APPswe/PS1dE9 mice. Memory, synaptic density, as well as Aß plaque and tau aggregate loads, microgliosis, astrogliosis at the inoculation site and in connected regions (perirhinal/entorhinal cortex) were evaluated 4 and 8 months post-inoculation. ADbe inoculation produced the following effects: (i) memory deficit; (ii) increased Aß plaque deposition in proximity to the inoculation site; (iii) tau pathology induction; (iv) appearance of neuropil threads and neurofibrillary tangles next to the inoculation site with a spreading to connected regions. Neuritic plaque pathology was detected in both ADbe- and Ctrlbe-inoculated animals but ADbe inoculation increased the severity close to and at distance of the inoculation site. (v) Finally, ADbe inoculation reduced synaptic density in the vicinity to the inoculation site and in connected regions as the perirhinal/entorhinal cortex. Synaptic impairments were correlated with increased severity of neuritic plaques but not to other tau lesions or Aß lesions, suggesting that neuritic plaques are a culprit for synaptic loss. Synaptic density was also associated with microglial load.

Functional Analyses of Two Novel LRRK2 Pathogenic Variants in Familial Parkinson's Disease.

BACKGROUND: Pathogenic variants in the LRRK2 gene are a common monogenic cause of Parkinson's disease. However, only seven variants have been confirmed to be pathogenic. OBJECTIVES: We identified two novel LRRK2 variants (H230R and A1440P) and performed functional testing. METHODS: We transiently expressed wild-type, the two new variants, or two known pathogenic mutants (G2019S and R1441G) in HEK-293 T cells, with or without LRRK2 kinase inhibitor treatment. We characterized the phosphorylation and kinase activity of the mutants by western blotting. Thermal shift assays were performed to determine the folding and stability of the LRRK2 proteins. RESULTS: The two variants were found in two large families and segregate with the disease. They display altered LRRK2 phosphorylation and kinase activity. CONCLUSIONS: We identified two novel LRRK2 variants which segregate with the disease. The results of functional testing lead us to propose these two variants as novel causative mutations for familial Parkinson's disease. © 2022 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Microtube Array Membrane Encapsulated Cell Therapy: A Novel Platform Technology Solution for Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's disease is the most frequent form of dementia in aging population and is presently the world's sixth largest cause of mortality. With the advancement of therapies, several solutions have been developed such as passive immunotherapy against these misfolded proteins, thereby resulting in the clearance. Within this segment, encapsulated cell therapy (ECT) solutions that utilize antibody releasing cells have been proposed with a multitude of techniques under development. Hence, in this study, we utilized our novel and patented Microtube Array Membranes (MTAMs) as an encapsulating platform system with anti-pTau antibody-secreting hybridoma cells to study the impact of it on Alzheimer's disease. In vivo results revealed that in the water maze, the mice implanted with hybridoma cell MTAMs intracranially (IN) and subcutaneously (SC) showed improvement in the time spent the goal quadrant and escape latency. In passive avoidance, hybridoma cell loaded MTAMs (IN and SC) performed significantly well in step-through latency. At the end of treatment, animals with hybridoma cell loaded MTAMs had lower phosphorylated tau (pTau) expression than empty MTAMs had. Combining both experimental results unveiled that the clearance of phosphorylated tau might rescue the cognitive impairment associated with AD.

Caffeine intake exerts dual genome-wide effects on hippocampal metabolism and learning-dependent transcription.

Caffeine is the most widely consumed psychoactive substance in the world. Strikingly, the molecular pathways engaged by its regular consumption remain unclear. We herein addressed the mechanisms associated with habitual (chronic) caffeine consumption in the mouse hippocampus using untargeted orthogonal omics techniques. Our results revealed that chronic caffeine exerts concerted pleiotropic effects in the hippocampus at the epigenomic, proteomic, and metabolomic levels. Caffeine lowered metabolism-related processes (e.g., at the level of metabolomics and gene expression) in bulk tissue, while it induced neuron-specific epigenetic changes at synaptic transmission/plasticity-related genes and increased experience-driven transcriptional activity. Altogether, these findings suggest that regular caffeine intake improves the signal-to-noise ratio during information encoding, in part through fine-tuning of metabolic genes, while boosting the salience of information processing during learning in neuronal circuits.

Impaired Glucose Homeostasis in a Tau Knock-In Mouse Model.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia. While impaired glucose homeostasis has been shown to increase AD risk and pathological loss of tau function, the latter has been suggested to contribute to the emergence of the glucose homeostasis alterations observed in AD patients. However, the links between tau impairments and glucose homeostasis, remain unclear. In this context, the present study aimed at investigating the metabolic phenotype of a new tau knock-in (KI) mouse model, expressing, at a physiological level, a human tau protein bearing the P301L mutation under the control of the endogenous mouse Mapt promoter. Metabolic investigations revealed that, while under chow diet tau KI mice do not exhibit significant metabolic impairments, male but not female tau KI animals under High-Fat Diet (HFD) exhibited higher insulinemia as well as glucose intolerance as compared to control littermates. Using immunofluorescence, tau protein was found colocalized with insulin in the ß cells of pancreatic islets in both mouse (WT, KI) and human pancreas. Isolated islets from tau KI and tau knock-out mice exhibited impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS), an effect recapitulated in the mouse pancreatic ß-cell line (MIN6) following tau knock-down. Altogether, our data indicate that loss of tau function in tau KI mice and, particularly, dysfunction of pancreatic ß cells might promote glucose homeostasis impairments and contribute to metabolic changes observed in AD.

Inhibition of Tau seeding by targeting Tau nucleation core within neurons with a single domain antibody fragment.

Tau proteins aggregate into filaments in brain cells in Alzheimer's disease and related disorders referred to as tauopathies. Here, we used fragments of camelid heavy-chain-only antibodies (VHHs or single domain antibody fragments) targeting Tau as immuno-modulators of its pathologic seeding. A VHH issued from the screen against Tau of a synthetic phage-display library of humanized VHHs was selected for its capacity to bind Tau microtubule-binding domain, composing the core of Tau fibrils. This parent VHH was optimized to improve its biochemical properties and to act in the intra-cellular compartment, resulting in VHH Z70. VHH Z70 precisely binds the PHF6 sequence, known for its nucleation capacity, as shown by the crystal structure of the complex. VHH Z70 was more efficient than the parent VHH to inhibit in vitro Tau aggregation in heparin-induced assays. Expression of VHH Z70 in a cellular model of Tau seeding also decreased the aggregation-reporting fluorescence signal. Finally, intra-cellular expression of VHH Z70 in the brain of an established tauopathy mouse seeding model demonstrated its capacity to mitigate accumulation of pathological Tau. VHH Z70, by targeting Tau inside brain neurons, where most of the pathological Tau resides, provides an immunological tool to target the intra-cellular compartment in tauopathies.

Transmission of amyloid-beta and tau pathologies is associated with cognitive impairments in a primate.

Amyloid-ß (Aß) pathology transmission has been described in patients following iatrogenic exposure to compounds contaminated with Aß proteins. It can induce cerebral Aß angiopathy resulting in brain hemorrhages and devastating clinical impacts. Iatrogenic transmission of tau pathology is also suspected but not experimentally proven. In both scenarios, lesions were detected several decades after the putatively triggering medico-surgical act. There is however little information regarding the cognitive repercussions in individuals who do not develop cerebral hemorrhages. In the current study, we inoculated the posterior cingulate cortex and underlying corpus callosum of young adult primates (Microcebus murinus) with either Alzheimer's disease or control brain extracts. This led to widespread Aß and tau pathologies in all of the Alzheimer-inoculated animals following a 21-month-long incubation period (n = 12) whereas none of the control brain extract-inoculated animals developed such lesions (n = 6). Aß deposition affected almost all cortical regions. Tau pathology was also detected in Aß-deposit-free regions distant from the inoculation sites (e.g. in the entorhinal cortex), while some regions adjacent, but not connected, to the inoculation sites were spared (e.g. the occipital cortex). Alzheimer-inoculated animals developed cognitive deficits and cerebral atrophy compared to controls. These pathologies were induced using two different batches of Alzheimer brain extracts. This is the first experimental demonstration that tau can be transmitted by human brain extracts inoculations in a primate. We also showed for the first time that the transmission of widespread Aß and tau pathologies can be associated with cognitive decline. Our results thus reinforce the need to organize a systematic monitoring of individuals who underwent procedures associated with a risk of Aß and tau iatrogenic transmission. They also provide support for Alzheimer brain-inoculated primates as relevant models of Alzheimer pathology.

P2X7-deficiency improves plasticity and cognitive abilities in a mouse model of Tauopathy.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia characterized by intracellular aggregates of hyperphosphorylated Tau protein and extracellular accumulation of amyloid ß (Aß) peptides. We previously demonstrated that the purinergic receptor P2X7 (P2X7) plays a major role in Aß-mediated neurodegeneration but the relationship between P2X7 and Tau remained overlooked. Such a link was supported by cortical upregulation of P2X7 in patients with various type of frontotemporal lobar degeneration, including mutation in the Tau-coding gene, MAPT, as well as in the brain of a Tauopathy mouse model (THY-Tau22). Subsequent phenotype analysis of P2X7-deficient Tau mice revealed the instrumental impact of this purinergic receptor. Indeed, while P2X7-deficiency had a moderate effect on Tau pathology itself, we observed a significant reduction of microglia activation and of Tau-related inflammatory mediators, particularly CCL4. Importantly, P2X7 deletion ultimately rescued synaptic plasticity and memory impairments of Tau mice. Altogether, the present data support a contributory role of P2X7 dysregulation on processes governing Tau-induced brain anomalies. Due to the convergent role of P2X7 blockade in both Aß and Tau background, P2X7 inhibitors might prove to be ideal candidate drugs to curb the devastating cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease and Tauopathies.

A ß-Secretase Modulator Decreases Tau Pathology and Preserves Short-Term Memory in a Mouse Model of Neurofibrillary Degeneration.

Identifying which among several in cellulo pharmacological activities is necessary for the proper in vivo activity is essential for further drug development against Alzheimer's disease pathophysiological processes. An in-depth structure-activity relationship-based study has been carried out, and two molecules, named MAGS02-14 and PEL24-199, that share a ß-secretase modulatory effect associated or not to a lysosomotropic activity in cellulo have been identified. In terms of chemical formulas, MAGS02-14 and PEL24-199 only differ from each other by a single nitrogen atom. The study aimed to elucidate the in vivo pharmacological effects of lysosomotropic and/or the ß-secretase modulatory activity in a tau pathology mouse model. To address this question, the THY-Tau22 transgenic model of tauopathy was treated with both compounds for 6 weeks in a curative paradigm. Short-term memory, tau burden, and inflammatory processes were analyzed using orthogonal methods, and PEL24-199, but not MAGS02-14, was shown to restore the short-term memory and reduce the neurofibrillary degenerating process. These effects were associated with a reduced phosphorylation of tau, an increased phosphatase expression, and decreased astrogliosis. Our results, therefore, suggest that the lysosomotropic activity may be nonessential for the effect on tau pathology.

Tau accumulation in astrocytes of the dentate gyrus induces neuronal dysfunction and memory deficits in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the accumulation of the tau protein in neurons, neurodegeneration and memory loss. However, the role of non-neuronal cells in this chain of events remains unclear. In the present study, we found accumulation of tau in hilar astrocytes of the dentate gyrus of individuals with AD. In mice, the overexpression of 3R tau specifically in hilar astrocytes of the dentate gyrus altered mitochondrial dynamics and function. In turn, these changes led to a reduction of adult neurogenesis, parvalbumin-expressing neurons, inhibitory synapses and hilar gamma oscillations, which were accompanied by impaired spatial memory performances. Together, these results indicate that the loss of tau homeostasis in hilar astrocytes of the dentate gyrus is sufficient to induce AD-like symptoms, through the impairment of the neuronal network. These results are important for our understanding of disease mechanisms and underline the crucial role of astrocytes in hippocampal function.

Does physical activity associated with chronic food restriction alleviate anxiety like behaviour, in female mice?

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is an eating disorder characterized by excessive weight loss, persistent food restriction and inappropriate physical activity relative to declining energy balance. The comorbidity with depression and/or anxiety disorders might contribute to the "chronicization" of the disease. We aimed here to question first the link between physical activity and anxiety from a clinical investigation of AN patients (n = 206). Then, using a rodent model mimicking numerous physiological and metabolic alterations commonly seen in AN patients, we examined whether 1) chronic food restriction increased anxiety-like behaviour and 2) physical activity plays a role in regulating anxiety levels. To this end, we exposed young female mice to a chronic food restriction (FR, n = 8) paradigm combined or not with access to a running wheel (FRW, n = 8) for two weeks. The mice were compared to a group of mice fed ad libitum without (AL, n = 6) or with running wheel access (ALW, n = 8). We explored anxiety-like behaviour of all mice in the following tests: hyponeophagia, marble burying, elevated plus maze, open field, and the light and dark box. On the last day, we used a restraint test of 30 min duration and measured their stress reactivity by assaying plasma corticosterone. In the open field and the elevated plus-maze, we found that FRW mice behaved similarly to AL and ALW mice whereas FR mice did not express anxiety-like behaviour. The FRW mice displayed the lowest latency to reach the food in the hyponeophagia test. Regarding stress reactivity, FRW mice exhibited corticosterone reactivity after acute stress that was similar to the control mice, while FR mice did not fully return to basal corticosterone at one hour after the restraint stress. Taken together, these data demonstrate a differential reactivity to acute stress in FR conditions and a beneficial effect of running wheel activity in ALW and FRW conditions. Moreover, we report the absence of a typical anxiety-like behaviour associated with the food restriction (FR and FRW groups). We conclude that this model (FR and FRW mice) did not express typical anxiety-like behaviour, but that physical activity linked to food restriction improved coping strategies in an anxiogenic context.

A Novel Tau Antibody Detecting the First Amino-Terminal Insert Reveals Conformational Differences Among Tau Isoforms.

As human Tau undergoes pathologically relevant post-translational modifications when expressed in yeast, the use of humanized yeast models for the generation of novel Tau monoclonal antibodies has previously been proven to be successful. In this study, human Tau2N4R-ΔK280 purified from yeast was used for the immunization of mice and subsequent selection of high affinity Tau-specific monoclonal antibodies. The characterization of four novel antibodies in different Tau model systems yielded a phosphorylation-dependent antibody (15A10), an antibody directed to the first microtubule-binding repeat domain (16B12), a carboxy-terminal antibody (20G10) and an antibody targeting an epitope on the hinge of the first and second amino-terminal insert (18F12). The latter was found to be conformation-dependent, suggesting structural differences between the Tau splicing isoforms and allowing insight in the roles played by the amino-terminal inserts. As this monoclonal antibody also has the capacity to detect tangle-like structures in different transgenic Tau mice and neurofibrillary tangles in brain sections of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, we also tested the diagnostic potential of 18F12 in a pilot study and found this monoclonal antibody to have the ability to discriminate Alzheimer's disease patients from control individuals based on increased Tau levels in the cerebrospinal fluid.

Correction to: Gel electrophoresis of human sperm: a simple method for evaluating sperm protein quality.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s12610-018-0076-0.].

The TMEM240 Protein, Mutated in SCA21, Is Expressed in Purkinje Cells and Synaptic Terminals.

A variety of missense mutations and a stop mutation in the gene coding for transmembrane protein 240 (TMEM240) have been reported to be the causative mutations of spinocerebellar ataxia 21 (SCA21). We aimed to investigate the expression of TMEM240 protein in mouse brain at the tissue, cellular, and subcellular levels. Immunofluorescence labeling showed TMEM240 to be expressed in various areas of the brain, with the highest levels in the hippocampus, isocortex, and cerebellum. In the cerebellum, TMEM240 was detected in the deep nuclei and the cerebellar cortex. The protein was expressed in all three layers of the cortex and various cerebellar neurons. TMEM240 was localized to climbing, mossy, and parallel fiber afferents projecting to Purkinje cells, as shown by co-immunostaining with VGLUT1 and VGLUT2. Co-immunostaining with synaptophysin, post-synaptic fractionation, and confirmatory electron microscopy showed TMEM240 to be localized to the post-synaptic side of synapses near the Purkinje-cell soma. Similar results were obtained in human cerebellar sections. These data suggest that TMEM240 may be involved in the organization of the cerebellar network, particularly in synaptic inputs converging on Purkinje cells. This study is the first to describe TMEM240 expression in the normal mouse brain.

Exacerbation of C1q dysregulation, synaptic loss and memory deficits in tau pathology linked to neuronal adenosine A2A receptor.

Accumulating data support the role of tau pathology in cognitive decline in ageing and Alzheimer's disease, but underlying mechanisms remain ill-defined. Interestingly, ageing and Alzheimer's disease have been associated with an abnormal upregulation of adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR), a fine tuner of synaptic plasticity. However, the link between A2AR signalling and tau pathology has remained largely unexplored. In the present study, we report for the first time a significant upregulation of A2AR in patients suffering from frontotemporal lobar degeneration with the MAPT P301L mutation. To model these alterations, we induced neuronal A2AR upregulation in a tauopathy mouse model (THY-Tau22) using a new conditional strain allowing forebrain overexpression of the receptor. We found that neuronal A2AR upregulation increases tau hyperphosphorylation, potentiating the onset of tau-induced memory deficits. This detrimental effect was linked to a singular microglial signature as revealed by RNA sequencing analysis. In particular, we found that A2AR overexpression in THY-Tau22 mice led to the hippocampal upregulation of C1q complement protein-also observed in patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration-and correlated with the loss of glutamatergic synapses, likely underlying the observed memory deficits. These data reveal a key impact of overactive neuronal A2AR in the onset of synaptic loss in tauopathies, paving the way for new therapeutic approaches.

Encephalopathy induced by Alzheimer brain inoculation in a non-human primate.

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by cognitive alterations, cerebral atrophy and neuropathological lesions including neuronal loss, accumulation of misfolded and aggregated ß-amyloid peptides (Aß) and tau proteins. Iatrogenic induction of Aß is suspected in patients exposed to pituitary-derived hormones, dural grafts, or surgical instruments, presumably contaminated with Aß. Induction of Aß and tau lesions has been demonstrated in transgenic mice after contamination with Alzheimer's disease brain homogenates, with very limited functional consequences. Unlike rodents, primates naturally express Aß or tau under normal conditions and attempts to transmit Alzheimer pathology to primates have been made for decades. However, none of earlier studies performed any detailed functional assessments. For the first time we demonstrate long term memory and learning impairments in a non-human primate (Microcebus murinus) following intracerebral injections with Alzheimer human brain extracts. Animals inoculated with Alzheimer brain homogenates displayed progressive cognitive impairments (clinical tests assessing cognitive and motor functions), modifications of neuronal activity (detected by electroencephalography), widespread and progressive cerebral atrophy (in vivo MRI assessing cerebral volume loss using automated voxel-based analysis), neuronal loss in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex (post mortem stereology). They displayed parenchymal and vascular Aß depositions and tau lesions for some of them, in regions close to the inoculation sites. Although these lesions were sparse, they were never detected in control animals. Tau-positive animals had the lowest performances in a memory task and displayed the greatest neuronal loss. Our study is timely and important as it is the first one to highlight neuronal and clinical dysfunction following inoculation of Alzheimer's disease brain homogenates in a primate. Clinical signs in a chronic disease such as Alzheimer take a long time to be detectable. Documentation of clinical deterioration and/or dysfunction following intracerebral inoculations with Alzheimer human brain extracts could lead to important new insights about Alzheimer initiation processes.

New piperazine multi-effect drugs prevent neurofibrillary degeneration and amyloid deposition, and preserve memory in animal models of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's Disease is a devastating dementing disease involving amyloid deposits, neurofibrillary tangles, progressive and irreversible cognitive impairment. Today, only symptomatic drugs are available and therapeutic treatments, possibly acting at a multiscale level, are thus urgently needed. To that purpose, we designed multi-effects compounds by synthesizing drug candidates derived by substituting a novel N,N'-disubstituted piperazine anti-amyloid scaffold and adding acetylcholinesterase inhibition property. Two compounds were synthesized and evaluated. The most promising hybrid molecule reduces both the amyloid pathology and the Tau pathology as well as the memory impairments in a preclinical model of Alzheimer's disease. In vitro also, the compound reduces the phosphorylation of Tau and inhibits the release of Aß peptides while preserving the processing of other metabolites of the amyloid precursor protein. We synthetized and tested the first drug capable of ameliorating both the amyloid and Tau pathology in animal models of AD as well as preventing the major brain lesions and associated memory impairments. This work paves the way for future compound medicines against both Alzheimer's-related brain lesions development and the associated cognitive impairments.

Brain insulin response and peripheral metabolic changes in a Tau transgenic mouse model.

Accumulation of hyper-phosphorylated and aggregated Tau proteins is a neuropathological hallmark of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and Tauopathies. AD patient brains also exhibit insulin resistance. Whereas, under normal physiological conditions insulin signaling in the brain mediates plasticity and memory formation, it can also regulate peripheral energy homeostasis. Thus, in AD, brain insulin resistance affects both cognitive and metabolic changes described in these patients. While a role of Aß oligomers and APOE4 towards the development of brain insulin resistance emerged, contribution of Tau pathology has been largely overlooked. Our recent data demonstrated that one of the physiological function of Tau is to sustain brain insulin signaling. We postulated that under pathological conditions, hyper-phosphorylated/aggregated Tau is likely to lose this function and to favor the development of brain insulin resistance. This hypothesis was substantiated by observations from patient brains with pure Tauopathies. To address the potential link between Tau pathology and brain insulin resistance, we have evaluated the brain response to insulin in a transgenic mouse model of AD-like Tau pathology (THY-Tau22). Using electrophysiological and biochemical evaluations, we surprisingly observed that, at a time when Tau pathology and cognitive deficits are overt and obvious, the hippocampus of THY-Tau22 mice exhibits enhanced response to insulin. In addition, we demonstrated that the ability of i.c.v. insulin to promote body weight loss is enhanced in THY-Tau22 mice. In line with this, THY-Tau22 mice exhibited a lower body weight gain, hypoleptinemia and hypoinsulinemia and finally a metabolic resistance to high-fat diet. The present data highlight that the brain of transgenic Tau mice exhibit enhanced brain response to insulin. Whether these observations are ascribed to the development of Tau pathology, and therefore relevant to human Tauopathies, or unexpectedly results from the Tau transgene overexpression is debatable and discussed.

A phenotypic approach to the discovery of compounds that promote non-amyloidogenic processing of the amyloid precursor protein: Toward a new profile of indirect ß-secretase inhibitors.

Dysregulation of the Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) processing leading to toxic species of amyloid ß peptides (Aß) is central to Alzheimer's disease (AD) etiology. Aß peptides are produced by sequential cleavage of APP by ß-secretase (BACE-1) and γ-secretase. Lysosomotropic agent, chloroquine (CQ), has been reported to inhibit Aß peptide production. However, this effect is accompanied by an inhibition of lysosome-mediated degradation pathways. Following on from the promising activity of two series of APP metabolism modulators derived from CQ, we sought to develop new series of compounds that would retain the inhibitory effects on Aß production without altering lysosome functions. Herein, we applied a ligand-based pharmacophore modeling approach coupled with de novo design that led to the discovery of a series of biaryl compounds. Structure-activity relationship studies revealed that minor modifications like replacing a piperidine moiety of compound 30 by a cyclohexyl (compound 31) allowed for the identification of compounds with the desired profile. Further studies have demonstrated that compounds 30 and 31 act through an indirect mechanism to inhibit ß-secretase activity. This work shows that it is possible to dissociate the inhibitory effect on Aß peptide secretion of CQ-derived compounds from the lysosome-mediated degradation effect, providing a new profile of indirect ß-secretase inhibitors.