Indolylazine Derivative Induces Chaperone Expression in Aged Neural Cells and Prevents the Progression of Alzheimer's Disease.

The risk of progression of most sporadic neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, increases with age. Traditionally, this is associated with a decrease in the efficiency of cell protection systems, in particular, molecular chaperones. Thus, the development of small molecules able to induce the synthesis of chaperones is a promising therapeutic approach to prevent neural diseases associated with ageing. Here, we describe a new compound IA-50, belonging to the class of indolylazines and featured by a low size of topological polar surface area, the property related to substances with potentially high membrane-penetrating activity. We also estimated the absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion characteristics of IA-50 and found the substance to fit the effective drug criteria. The new compound was found to induce the synthesis and accumulation of Hsp70 in normal and aged neurons and in the hippocampi of young and old mice. The transgenic model of Alzheimer's disease, based on 5xFAD mice, confirmed that the injection of IA-50 prevented the formation of ß-amyloid aggregates, loss of hippocampal neurons and the development of memory impairment. These data indicate that this novel substance may induce the expression of chaperones in neural cells and brain tissues, suggesting its possible application in the therapy of ageing-associated disorders.

GAPDH-targeted therapy - A new approach for secondary damage after traumatic brain injury on rats.

Massive neuronal death caused by a neurodegenerative pathology or damage due to ischaemia or traumatic brain injury leads to the appearance of cytosolic proteins in the extracellular space. We found that one of the most abundant cellular polypeptides, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), appearing in the medium of dying cells or body fluids is able to form aggregates that are cytotoxic to adjacent cells. Since we previously showed that the hydrocortisone derivative RX624 can inhibit the ability of GAPDH to transport the enzyme complex with polyglutamine and reduce the cytotoxicity of the complex, we explored the effects of GAPDH on SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. We found that the latter treated with particular forms of GAPDH molecules die with a high efficiency, suggesting that the exogenous enzyme does kill adjacent cells. RX624 prevented the interaction of exogenous GAPDH with the cell membrane and reduced the level of death by more than 10%. We also demonstrated the efficiency of RX624 treatment in a rat model of traumatic brain injury. The chemical blocked the formation of GAPDH aggregates in the brain, inhibited the cytotoxic effects of cerebrospinal fluid and rescued the motor function of injured rats. Importantly, RX624 treatment of rats had a similar effect as the intracranial injection of anti-GAPDH antibodies.

Etoposide-Induced Apoptosis in Cancer Cells Can Be Reinforced by an Uncoupled Link between Hsp70 and Caspase-3.

The Hsp70 chaperone binds and inhibits proteins implicated in apoptotic signaling including Caspase-3. Induction of apoptosis is an important mechanism of anti-cancer drugs, therefore Hsp70 can act as a protective system in tumor cells against therapeutic agents. In this study we present an assessment of candidate compounds that are able to dissociate the complex of Hsp70 with Caspase-3, and thus sensitize cells to drug-induced apoptosis. Using the PASS program for prediction of biological activity we selected a derivative of benzodioxol (BT44) that is known to affect molecular chaperones and caspases. Drug affinity responsive target stability and microscale thermophoresis assays indicated that BT44 bound to Hsp70 and reduced the chaperone activity. When etoposide was administered, heat shock accompanied with an accumulation of Hsp70 led to an inhibition of etoposide-induced apoptosis. The number of apoptotic cells increased following BT44 administration, and forced Caspase-3 processing. Competitive protein⁻protein interaction and immunoprecipitation assays showed that BT44 caused dissociation of the Hsp70⁻Caspase-3 complex, thus augmenting the anti-tumor activity of etoposide and highlighting the potential role of molecular separators in cancer therapy.

A hydrocortisone derivative binds to GAPDH and reduces the toxicity of extracellular polyglutamine-containing aggregates.

Huntington's disease (HD) has been recently shown to have a horizontally transmitted, prion-like pathology. Thus, the migration of polyglutamine-containing aggregates to acceptor cells is important for the progression of HD. These aggregates contain glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), which increases their intracellular transport and their toxicity. Here, we show that RX624, a derivative of hydrocortisone that binds to GAPDH, prevents the formation of aggregates of GAPDH-polyglutamine excreted into the culture medium by PC-12 rat cells expressing mutant huntingtin. RX624 was previously shown to be unable to penetrate cells and, thus, its principal therapeutic action might be the inhibition of polyglutamine-GAPDH complex aggregation in the extracellular matrix. The administration of RX624 to SH-SY5Y acceptor cells that incubated in conditioned medium from PC-12 cells expressing mutant huntingtin caused an approximately 20% increase in survival. This suggests that RX624 might be useful as a drug against polyglutamine pathologies, and that is could be administered exogenously without affecting target cell physiology. This protective effect was validated by the similar effect of an anti-GAPDH specific antibody.

Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase augments the intercellular transmission and toxicity of polyglutamine aggregates in a cell model of Huntington disease.

The common feature of Huntington disease is the accumulation of oligomers or aggregates of mutant huntingtin protein (mHTT), which causes the death of a subset of striatal neuronal populations. The cytotoxic species can leave neurons and migrate to other groups of cells penetrating and damaging them in a prion-like manner. We hypothesized that the glycolytic enzyme glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), previously shown to elevate the aggregation of mHTT, is associated with an increased efficiency of intercellular propagation of mHTT. GAPDH, on its own or together with polyglutamine species, was shown to be released into the extracellular milieu mainly from dying cells as assessed by a novel enzyme immunoassay, western blotting, and ultrafiltration. The conditioned medium of cells with growing GAPDH-polyQ aggregates was toxic to naïve cells, whereas depletion of the aggregates from the medium lowered this cytotoxicity. The GAPDH component of the aggregates was found to increase their toxicity by two-fold in comparison with polyQ alone. Furthermore, GAPDH-polyQ complexes were shown to penetrate acceptor cells and to increase the capacity of polyQ to prionize its intracellular homolog containing a repeat of 25 glutamine residues. Finally, inhibitors of intracellular transport showed that polyQ-GAPDH complexes, as well as GAPDH itself, penetrated cells using clathrin-mediated endocytosis. This suggested a pivotal role of the enzyme in the intercellular transmission of Huntington disease pathogenicity. In conclusion, GAPDH occurring in complexes with polyglutamine strengthens the prion-like activity and toxicity of the migrating aggregates. Aggregating polygluatmine tracts were shown to release from the cells over-expressing mutant huntingtin in a complex with glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). The enzyme enhances the intracellular transport of aggregates to healthy cells, prionization of normal cellular proteins and finally cell death, thus demonstrating the pivotal role of GAPDH in the horizontal transmission of neurodegeneration.

Hsp70 chaperone rescues C6 rat glioblastoma cells from oxidative stress by sequestration of aggregating GAPDH.

The Hsp70 chaperone is known to elicit cytoprotective activity and this protection has a negative impact in anti-tumor therapy. In cancer cells subjected to oxidative stress Hsp70 may bind damaged polypeptides and proteins involved in apoptosis signaling. Since one of the important targets of oxidative stress is glyceraldehyde-3-phospate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) we suggested that Hsp70 might elicit its protective effect by binding GAPDH. Microscopy data show that in C6 rat glioma cells subjected to hydrogen peroxide treatment a considerable proportion of the GAPDH molecules are denatured and according to dot ultrafiltration data they form SDS-insoluble aggregates. Using two newly developed assays we show that Hsp70 can bind oxidized GAPDH in an ATP-dependent manner. Pharmacological up- or down-regulation of Hsp70 with the aid of U133 echinochrome or triptolide, respectively, reduced or increased the number of C6 glioma cells containing GAPDH aggregates and dying due to treatment with hydrogen peroxide. Using immunoprecipitation we found that Hsp70 is able to sequester aggregation-prone GAPDH and this may explain the anti-oxidative power of the chaperone. The results of this study led us to conclude that in cancer cells constantly exposed to conditions of oxidative stress, the protective power of Hsp70 should be abolished by specific inhibitors of Hsp70 expression.

Combination of a Chaperone Synthesis Inducer and an Inhibitor of GAPDH Aggregation for Rehabilitation after Traumatic Brain Injury: A Pilot Study.

The recovery period after traumatic brain injury (TBI) is often complicated by secondary damage that may last for days or even months after trauma. Two proteins, Hsp70 and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), were recently described as modulating post-traumatic processes, and in this study, we test them as targets for combination therapy using an inhibitor of GAPDH aggregation (derivative of hydrocortisone RX624) and an inducer of Hsp70 synthesis (the pyrrolylazine derivative PQ-29). The protective effect of the combination on C6 rat glioblastoma cells treated with the cerebrospinal fluid of traumatized animals resulted in an increase in the cell index and in a reduced level of apoptosis. Using a rat weight drop model of TBI, we found that the combined use of both drugs prevented memory impairment and motor deficits, as well as a reduction of neurons and accumulation of GAPDH aggregates in brain tissue. In conclusion, we developed and tested a new approach to the treatment of TBI based on influencing distinct molecular mechanisms in brain cells.

Extracellular GAPDH Promotes Alzheimer Disease Progression by Enhancing Amyloid-ß Aggregation and Cytotoxicity.

Neuronal cell death at late stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) causes the release of cytosolic proteins. One of the most abundant such proteins, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), forms stable aggregates with extracellular amyloid-ß (Aß). We detect these aggregates in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from AD patients at levels directly proportional to the progressive stages of AD. We found that GAPDH forms a covalent bond with Q15 of Aß that is mediated by transglutaminase (tTG). The Q15A substitution weakens the interaction between Aß and GAPDH and reduces Aß-GAPDH cytotoxicity. Lentivirus-driven GAPDH overexpression in two AD animal models increased the level of apoptosis of hippocampal cells, neural degeneration, and cognitive dysfunction. In contrast, in vivo knockdown of GAPDH reversed these pathogenic abnormalities suggesting a pivotal role of GAPDH in Aß-stimulated neurodegeneration. CSF from animals with enhanced GAPDH expression demonstrates increased cytotoxicity in vitro. Furthermore, RX-624, a specific GAPDH small molecular ligand reduced accumulation of Aß aggregates and reversed memory deficit in AD transgenic mice. These findings argue that extracellular GAPDH compromises Aß clearance and accelerates neurodegeneration, and, thus, is a promising pharmacological target for AD.

Pyrrolylquinoxaline-2-One Derivative as a Potent Therapeutic Factor for Brain Trauma Rehabilitation.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) often causes massive brain cell death accompanied by the accumulation of toxic factors in interstitial and cerebrospinal fluids. The persistence of the damaged brain area is not transient and may occur within days and weeks. Chaperone Hsp70 is known for its cytoprotective and antiapoptotic activity, and thus, a therapeutic approach based on chemically induced Hsp70 expression may become a promising approach to lower post-traumatic complications. To simulate the processes of secondary damage, we used an animal model of TBI and a cell model based on the cultivation of target cells in the presence of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from injured rats. Here we present a novel low molecular weight substance, PQ-29, which induces the synthesis of Hsp70 and empowers the resistance of rat C6 glioma cells to the cytotoxic effect of rat cerebrospinal fluid taken from rats subjected to TBI. In an animal model of TBI, PQ-29 elevated the Hsp70 level in brain cells and significantly slowed the process of the apoptosis in acceptor cells in response to cerebrospinal fluid action. The compound was also shown to rescue the motor function of traumatized rats, thus proving its potential application in rehabilitation therapy after TBI.

The Arrival of Siberian Ancestry Connecting the Eastern Baltic to Uralic Speakers further East.

In this study, we compare the genetic ancestry of individuals from two as yet genetically unstudied cultural traditions in Estonia in the context of available modern and ancient datasets: 15 from the Late Bronze Age stone-cist graves (1200-400 BC) (EstBA) and 6 from the Pre-Roman Iron Age tarand cemeteries (800/500 BC-50 AD) (EstIA). We also included 5 Pre-Roman to Roman Iron Age Ingrian (500 BC-450 AD) (IngIA) and 7 Middle Age Estonian (1200-1600 AD) (EstMA) individuals to build a dataset for studying the demographic history of the northern parts of the Eastern Baltic from the earliest layer of Mesolithic to modern times. Our findings are consistent with EstBA receiving gene flow from regions with strong Western hunter-gatherer (WHG) affinities and EstIA from populations related to modern Siberians. The latter inference is in accordance with Y chromosome (chrY) distributions in present day populations of the Eastern Baltic, as well as patterns of autosomal variation in the majority of the westernmost Uralic speakers [1-5]. This ancestry reached the coasts of the Baltic Sea no later than the mid-first millennium BC; i.e., in the same time window as the diversification of west Uralic (Finnic) languages [6]. Furthermore, phenotypic traits often associated with modern Northern Europeans, like light eyes, hair, and skin, as well as lactose tolerance, can be traced back to the Bronze Age in the Eastern Baltic. VIDEO ABSTRACT.

Discovery and optimization of cardenolides inhibiting HSF1 activation in human colon HCT-116 cancer cells.

Combinational anticancer therapy demonstrates increased efficiency, as it targets different cell-survival mechanisms and allows the decrease of drug dosages that are often toxic to normal cells. Inhibitors of the heat shock response (HSR) are known to reduce the efficiency of proteostasis mechanisms in many cancerous cells, and therefore, may be employed as anti-tumor drug complements. However, the application of HSR inhibitors is limited by their cytotoxicity, and we suggested that milder inhibitors may be employed to sensitize cancer cells to a certain drug. We used a heat-shock element-luciferase reporter system and discovered a compound, CL-43, that inhibited the levels of heat shock proteins 40, 70 (Hsp70), and 90 kDa in HCT-116 cells and was not toxic for cells of several lines, including normal human fibroblasts. Consequently, CL-43 was found to reduce colony formation and motility of HCT-116 in the appropriate assays suggesting its possible application in the exploration of biology of metastasizing tumors. Importantly, CL-43 elevated the growth-inhibitory and cytotoxic activity of etoposide, cisplatin, and doxorubicin suggesting that the pro-drug has broad prospect for application in a variety of anti-tumor therapy schedules.

New HSF1 inducer as a therapeutic agent in a rodent model of Parkinson's disease.

Molecular chaperone HSP70 (HSPA1A) has therapeutic potential in conformational neurological diseases. Here we evaluate the neuroprotective function of the chaperone in a rat model of Parkinson's disease (PD). We show that the knock-down of HSP70 (HSPA1A) in dopaminergic neurons of the Substantia nigra causes an almost 2-fold increase in neuronal death and multiple motor disturbances in animals. Conversely, pharmacological activation of HSF1 transcription factor and enhanced expression of inducible HSP70 with the echinochrome derivative, U-133, reverses the process of neurodegeneration, as evidenced by а increase in the number of tyrosine hydroxylase-containing neurons, and prevents the motor disturbances that are typical of the clinical stage of the disease. The neuroprotective effect caused by the elevation of HSP70 in nigral neurons is due to the ability of the chaperone to prevent α-synuclein aggregation and microglia activation. Our findings support the therapeutic relevance of HSP70 induction for the prevention and/or deceleration of PD-like neurodegeneration.

Sensitizing tumor cells to conventional drugs: HSP70 chaperone inhibitors, their selection and application in cancer models.

Hsp70 chaperone controls proteostasis and anti-stress responses in rapidly renewing cancer cells, making it an important target for therapeutic compounds. To date several Hsp70 inhibitors are presented with remarkable anticancer activity, however their clinical application is limited by the high toxicity towards normal cells. This study aimed to develop assays to search for the substances that reduce the chaperone activity of Hsp70 and diminish its protective function in cancer cells. On our mind the resulting compounds alone should be safe and function in combination with drugs widely employed in oncology. We constructed systems for the analysis of substrate-binding and refolding activity of Hsp70 and to validate the assays screened the substances representing most diverse groups of chemicals of InterBioScreen library. One of the inhibitors was AEAC, an N-amino-ethylamino derivative of colchicine, which toxicity was two-orders lower than that of parent compound. In contrast to colchicine, AEAC inhibited substrate-binding and refolding functions of Hsp70 chaperones. The results of a drug affinity responsive target stability assay, microscale thermophoresis and molecular docking show that AEAC binds Hsp70 with nanomolar affinity. AEAC was found to penetrate C6 rat glioblastoma and B16 mouse melanoma cells and reduce there the function of the Hsp70-mediated refolding system. Although the cytotoxic and growth inhibitory activities of AEAC were minimal, the compound was shown to increase the antitumor efficiency of doxorubicin in tumor cells of both types. When the tumors were grown in animals, AEAC administration in combination with doxorubicin exerted maximal therapeutic effect prolonging animal survival by 10-15 days and reducing tumor growth rate by 60%. To our knowledge, this is the first time that this approach to the high-throughput analysis of chaperone inhibitors has been applied, and it can be useful in the search for drug combinations that are effective in the treatment of highly resistant tumors.

Possible Function of Molecular Chaperones in Diseases Caused by Propagating Amyloid Aggregates.

The vast majority of neurodegenerative pathologies stem from the formation of toxic oligomers and aggregates composed of wrongly folded proteins. These protein complexes can be released from pathogenic cells and enthralled by other cells, causing the formation of new aggregates in a prion-like manner. By this mechanism, migrating complexes can transmit a disorder to distant regions of the brain and promote gradually transmitting degenerative processes. Molecular chaperones can counteract the toxicity of misfolded proteins. In this review, we discuss recent data on the possible cytoprotective functions of chaperones in horizontally transmitting neurological disorders.

Properties of substances inhibiting aggregation of oxidized GAPDH: Data on the interaction with the enzyme and the impact on its intracellular content.

This data is related to our paper "Small molecules preventing GAPDH aggregation are therapeutically applicable in cell and rat models of oxidative stress" (Lazarev et al. [1]) where we explore therapeutic properties of small molecules preventing GAPDH aggregation in cell and rat models of oxidative stress. The present article demonstrates a few of additional properties of the chemicals shown to block GAPDH aggregation such as calculated site for targeting the enzyme, effects on GAPDH glycolytic activity, influence on GAPDH intracellular level and anti-aggregate activity of pure polyglutamine exemplifying a denatured protein.

Small molecules preventing GAPDH aggregation are therapeutically applicable in cell and rat models of oxidative stress.

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) is one of the most abundant targets of the oxidative stress. Oxidation of the enzyme causes its inactivation and the formation of intermolecular disulfide bonds, and leads to the accumulation of GAPDH aggregates and ultimately to cell death. The aim of this work was to reveal the ability of chemicals to break the described above pathologic linkage by inhibiting GAPDH aggregation. Using the model of oxidative stress based on SK-N-SH human neuroblastoma cells treated with hydrogen peroxide, we found that lentivirus-mediated down- or up-regulation of GAPDH content caused inhibition or enhancement of the protein aggregation and respectively reduced or increased the level of cell death. To reveal substances that are able to inhibit GAPDH aggregation, we developed a special assay based on dot ultrafiltration using the collection of small molecules of plant origin. In the first round of screening, five compounds were found to possess anti-aggregation activity as established by ultrafiltration and dynamic light scattering; some of the substances efficiently inhibited GAPDH aggregation in nanomolar concentrations. The ability of the compounds to bind GAPDH molecules was proved by the drug affinity responsive target stability assay, molecular docking and differential scanning calorimetry. Results of experiments with SK-N-SH human neuroblastoma treated with hydrogen peroxide show that two substances, RX409 and RX426, lowered the degree of GAPDH aggregation and reduced cell death by 30%. Oxidative injury was emulated in vivo by injecting of malonic acid into the rat brain, and we showed that the treatment with RX409 or RX426 inhibited GAPDH-mediated aggregation in the brain, reduced areas of the injury as proved by magnetic resonance imaging, and augmented the behavioral status of the rats as established by the "beam walking" test. In conclusion, the data show that two GAPDH binders could be therapeutically relevant in the treatment of injuries stemming from hard oxidative stress.

GAPDH binders as potential drugs for the therapy of polyglutamine diseases: design of a new screening assay.

Proteins with long polyglutamine repeats form a complex with glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), which enhances aggregation and cytotoxicity in models of Huntington disease. The aim of this study was to develop a novel assay for the screening of anti-aggregation compounds with a focus on the aggregation-promoting capacity of GAPDH. The assay includes a pure Q58 polyglutamine fragment, GAPDH, and a transglutaminase that links the two proteins. The feasibility of the new assay was verified using two GAPDH binders, hydroxynonenal and -(-)deprenyl, and the benzothiazole derivative PGL-135 which exhibits anti-aggregation effect. All three substances were shown to reduce aggregation and cytotoxicity in the cell and in the fly model of Spinocerebellar ataxia.