Inhibition of BACE1 and amyloid ß aggregation by polyketide from Streptomyces sp.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) causes cognitive impairment in the elderly and is a severe problem worldwide. One of the major reasons for the pathogenesis of AD is thought to be due to the accumulation of amyloid beta (Aß) peptides that result in neuronal cell death in the brain. In this study, bioassay-guided fractionation was performed to develop seed compounds for anti-AD drugs that can act as dual inhibitors of BACE1 and Aß aggregation from secondary metabolites produced by Streptomyces sp. To improve the solubility, the crude extracts were methylated with trimethylsilyl (TMS) diazomethane and then purified to yield polyketides 1-5, including the new compound 1. We synthesized the compounds 6 and 7 (original compounds 2 and 3, respectively), and their activities were evaluated. KS-619-1, the demethylated form of 4 and 5, was isolated and evaluated for its inhibitory activity. The IC50 values for BACE1 and Aß aggregation were found to be 0.48 and 1.1 µM, respectively, indicating that KS-619-1 could be a lead compound for the development of therapeutic agents for AD.

Semisynthesis and biological evaluation of prenylated resveratrol derivatives as multi-targeted agents for Alzheimer's disease.

A series of prenylated resveratrol derivatives were designed, semisynthesized and biologically evaluated for inhibition of ß-secretase (BACE1) and amyloid-ß (Aß) aggregation as well as free radical scavenging and neuroprotective and neuritogenic activities, as potential novel multifunctional agents against Alzheimer's disease (AD). The results showed that compound 4b exhibited good anti-Aß aggregation (IC50 = 4.78 µM) and antioxidant activity (IC50 = 41.22 µM) and moderate anti-BACE1 inhibitory activity (23.70% at 50 µM), and could be a lead compound. Moreover, this compound showed no neurotoxicity along with a greater ability to inhibit oxidative stress on P19-derived neuronal cells (50.59% cell viability at 1 nM). The neuritogenic activity presented more branching numbers (9.33) and longer neurites (109.74 µm) than the control, and was comparable to the quercetin positive control. Taken together, these results suggest compound 4b had the greatest multifunctional activities and might be a very promising lead compound for the further development of drugs for AD.

Electric current-induced lymphatic activation.

The lymphatic system in skin plays important roles in drainage of wastes and in the afferent phase of immune response. We previously showed that activation of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR), specifically the VEGFC/VEGFR-3 pathway, attenuates oedema and inflammation by promoting lymphangiogenesis, suggesting a protective role of lymphatic vessels against skin inflammation. However, it remains unknown how physical stimuli promote lymphatic function. Here, we show that lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) are activated by direct-current (DC) electrical stimulation, which induced extension of actin filaments of LECs, increased calcium influx into LECs, and increased phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). An inhibitor of focal adhesion kinase, which plays a role in cellular adhesion and motility, diminished the DC-induced extension of F-actin and abrogated p38 phosphorylation. Time-lapse imaging revealed that pulsed-DC stimulation promoted proliferation and migration of LECs. Overall, these results indicate that electro-stimulation activates lymphatic function by activating p38 MAPK.