ABSTRACT
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the consequence of neuronal death and brain atrophy associated with the aggregation of protein tau into fibrils. Thus disaggregation of tau fibrils could be a therapeutic approach to AD. The small molecule EGCG, abundant in green tea, has long been known to disaggregate tau and other amyloid fibrils, but EGCG has poor drug-like properties, failing to fully penetrate the brain. Here we have cryogenically trapped an intermediate of brain-extracted tau fibrils on the kinetic pathway to EGCG-induced disaggregation and have determined its cryoEM structure. The structure reveals that EGCG molecules stack in polar clefts between the paired helical protofilaments that pathologically define AD. Treating the EGCG binding position as a pharmacophore, we computationally screened thousands of drug-like compounds for compatibility for the pharmacophore, discovering several that experimentally disaggregate brain-derived tau fibrils in vitro. This work suggests the potential of structure-based, small-molecule drug discovery for amyloid diseases.
Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease , Amyloidosis , tau Proteins , Alzheimer Disease/drug therapy , Alzheimer Disease/metabolism , Amyloid/chemistry , Amyloid/drug effects , Catechin/analogs & derivatives , Catechin/chemistry , Catechin/pharmacology , Cryoelectron Microscopy , Drug Evaluation, Preclinical/methods , Humans , Tea/chemistry , tau Proteins/chemistry , tau Proteins/drug effects , tau Proteins/metabolismABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Amyloid plaque deposition and axonal degeneration are early events in AD pathogenesis. Aß disrupts microtubules in presynaptic dystrophic neurites, resulting in the accumulation of impaired endolysosomal and autophagic organelles transporting ß-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme (BACE1). Consequently, dystrophic neurites generate Aß42 and significantly contribute to plaque deposition. Farnesyltransferase inhibitors (FTIs) have recently been investigated for repositioning toward the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders and block the action of farnesyltransferase (FTase) to catalyze farnesylation, a post-translational modification that regulates proteins involved in lysosome function and microtubule stability. In postmortem AD brains, FTase and its downstream signaling are upregulated. However, the impact of FTIs on amyloid pathology and dystrophic neurites is unknown. METHODS: We tested the effects of the FTIs LNK-754 and lonafarnib in the 5XFAD mouse model of amyloid pathology. RESULTS: In 2-month-old 5XFAD mice treated chronically for 3 months, LNK-754 reduced amyloid plaque burden, tau hyperphosphorylation, and attenuated the accumulation of BACE1 and LAMP1 in dystrophic neurites. In 5-month-old 5XFAD mice treated acutely for 3 weeks, LNK-754 reduced dystrophic neurite size and LysoTracker-Green accumulation in the absence of effects on Aß deposits. Acute treatment with LNK-754 improved memory and learning deficits in hAPP/PS1 amyloid mice. In contrast to LNK-754, lonafarnib treatment was less effective at reducing plaques, tau hyperphosphorylation and dystrophic neurites, which could have resulted from reduced potency against FTase compared to LNK-754. We investigated the effects of FTIs on axonal trafficking of endolysosomal organelles and found that lonafarnib and LNK-754 enhanced retrograde axonal transport in primary neurons, indicating FTIs could support the maturation of axonal late endosomes into lysosomes. Furthermore, FTI treatment increased levels of LAMP1 in mouse primary neurons and in the brains of 5XFAD mice, demonstrating that FTIs stimulated the biogenesis of endolysosomal organelles. CONCLUSIONS: We show new data to suggest that LNK-754 promoted the axonal trafficking and function of endolysosomal compartments, which we hypothesize decreased axonal dystrophy, reduced BACE1 accumulation and inhibited amyloid deposition in 5XFAD mice. Our results agree with previous work identifying FTase as a therapeutic target for treating proteinopathies and could have important therapeutic implications in treating AD.
Subject(s)
Amyloid , Amyloidosis , Farnesyltranstransferase , Alzheimer Disease/metabolism , Amyloid/drug effects , Amyloid/metabolism , Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases/metabolism , Amyloid beta-Peptides/metabolism , Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor/metabolism , Amyloidogenic Proteins/metabolism , Amyloidosis/metabolism , Amyloidosis/pathology , Animals , Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases/metabolism , Axons/drug effects , Axons/pathology , Disease Models, Animal , Farnesyltranstransferase/antagonists & inhibitors , Farnesyltranstransferase/metabolism , Mice , Mice, Transgenic , Plaque, Amyloid/pathologyABSTRACT
Most neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease are proteinopathies linked to the toxicity of amyloid oligomers. Treatments to delay or cure these diseases are lacking. Using budding yeast, we report that the natural lipid tripentadecanoin induces expression of the nitric oxide oxidoreductase Yhb1 to prevent the formation of protein aggregates during aging and extends replicative lifespan. In mammals, tripentadecanoin induces expression of the Yhb1 orthologue, neuroglobin, to protect neurons against amyloid toxicity. Tripentadecanoin also rescues photoreceptors in a mouse model of retinal degeneration and retinal ganglion cells in a Rhesus monkey model of optic atrophy. Together, we propose that tripentadecanoin affects p-bodies to induce neuroglobin expression and offers a potential treatment for proteinopathies and retinal neurodegeneration.
Subject(s)
Amyloid , Lipids , Protein Aggregation, Pathological , Animals , Mice , Alzheimer Disease , Amyloid/drug effects , Amyloid/metabolism , Amyloid beta-Peptides/drug effects , Amyloid beta-Peptides/metabolism , Dioxygenases , Hemeproteins , Lipids/pharmacology , Mammals , Neuroglobin/drug effects , Neuroglobin/metabolism , Processing Bodies/drug effects , Processing Bodies/metabolism , Protein Aggregation, Pathological/genetics , Protein Aggregation, Pathological/metabolism , Retinal Ganglion Cells/metabolism , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/genetics , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/metabolism , Saccharomyces cerevisiae ProteinsABSTRACT
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Thamnolia vermicularis (Sw.) Schaer (T. vermicularis) is known to have therapeutic effects on various diseases in Southwest China. Recent research has highlighted that T. vermicularis may suppress Aß level and Tau hyperphosphorylation to improve the pathological characteristics of Alzheimer's disease, indicating that it might have the potential to treat Alzheimer's disease. AIM OF THE STUDY: The objective of this study was to evaluate the inhibitory effect of T. vermicularis on the fibril formation of a typical amyloidogenic protein, hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL), and to identify the effective components that could potentially enable an extract of T. vermicularis to be used in the development of novel therapeutic agents. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A water extract was prepared from T. vermicularis (TVWE) and its inhibitory effect on amyloid fibrillation in vitro was investigated using thioflavin T and 8-anilinonapthalene-1-sulfonic acid spectrofluorometric analyses. The anti-amyloidogenic components of TVWE were separated and qualitatively analyzed using thin layer chromatography (TLC), supercritical carbon dioxide extraction (SFE-CO2), and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Finally, the effect of the bioactive components on the structure of HEWL in the early stages of fibrillogenesis was determined by molecular docking simulation. RESULTS: TVWE strongly inhibited the ability of HEWL to form an amyloid fibril, yielding an IC50 of 0.018 mg/mL for the inhibition of fibrillogenesis. The chemical constituents in the various TVWE fractions resolved by TLC were qualitatively identified by liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-Q-TOF-MS). The target components were predicted by reviewing the existing literature on T. vermicularis, in which the components of T. vermicularis, along with three small molecules (molecular weight: 182) were preliminarily identified. Molecular docking simulation showed that these small molecules were bound to the core region of HEWL, affecting its stability. Finally, the active anti-amyloidogenic components were extracted from whole T. vermicularis using SFE-CO2 and then identified. CONCLUSION: The potential components of TVWE that could prevent HEWL fibrillogenesis were primarily identified using TLC, LC-Q-TOF-MS, and SFE-CO2. The candidate small-molecule compounds were further predicted by combining the LC-Q-TOF-MS results with molecular docking analysis. The effective components of T. vermicularis were extracted using SFE-CO2. Together, these methods could constitute a practical strategy for the isolation and identification of anti-amyloidogenic components from a traditional Chinese medicine.
Subject(s)
Amyloid/drug effects , Ascomycota/chemistry , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Amyloid/metabolism , Animals , Chromatography, Liquid , Chromatography, Thin Layer , Inhibitory Concentration 50 , Mass Spectrometry , Molecular Docking Simulation , Muramidase , Plant Extracts/administration & dosage , Plant Extracts/chemistry , Spectrometry, FluorescenceABSTRACT
For thousands of years, mankind has been using plant extracts or plants themselves as medicinal herbs. Currently, there is a great deal of public interest in naturally occurring medicinal substances that are virtually non-toxic, readily available, and have an impact on well-being and health. It has been noted that dietary curcumin is one of the regulators that may positively influence changes in the brain after ischemia. Curcumin is a natural polyphenolic compound with pleiotropic biological properties. The observed death of pyramidal neurons in the CA1 region of the hippocampus and its atrophy are considered to be typical changes for post-ischemic brain neurodegeneration and for Alzheimer's disease. Additionally, it has been shown that one of the potential mechanisms of severe neuronal death is the accumulation of neurotoxic amyloid and dysfunctional tau protein after cerebral ischemia. Post-ischemic studies of human and animal brains have shown the presence of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. The significant therapeutic feature of curcumin is that it can affect the aging-related cellular proteins, i.e., amyloid and tau protein, preventing their aggregation and insolubility after ischemia. Curcumin also decreases the neurotoxicity of amyloid and tau protein by affecting their structure. Studies in animal models of cerebral ischemia have shown that curcumin reduces infarct volume, brain edema, blood-brain barrier permeability, apoptosis, neuroinflammation, glutamate neurotoxicity, inhibits autophagy and oxidative stress, and improves neurological and behavioral deficits. The available data suggest that curcumin may be a new therapeutic substance in both regenerative medicine and the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders such as post-ischemic neurodegeneration.
Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease/drug therapy , Brain Ischemia/complications , Curcumin/pharmacology , Neuroprotective Agents/pharmacology , Alzheimer Disease/etiology , Amyloid/drug effects , Amyloid/metabolism , Animals , Apoptosis/drug effects , Atrophy/etiology , Biological Availability , Blood-Brain Barrier/drug effects , Blood-Brain Barrier/metabolism , Brain Edema/drug therapy , Brain Ischemia/drug therapy , Curcumin/chemistry , Curcumin/pharmacokinetics , Disease Models, Animal , Gastrointestinal Microbiome/physiology , Gerbillinae , Hippocampus/pathology , Humans , Mice , Neuroinflammatory Diseases/drug therapy , Neuroprotective Agents/chemistry , Neuroprotective Agents/pharmacokinetics , Oxidative Stress/drug effects , Rats , tau Proteins/drug effects , tau Proteins/metabolismABSTRACT
We review the implications of the recently approved aducanumab amyloid-ß immunotherapy for treating Alzheimer disease with comorbid cerebral amyloid angiopathy. In clinical trials, amyloid-ß immunotherapy has been associated with a high rate of amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, potentially driven by coexisting cerebral amyloid angiopathy. Therefore, immunotherapy's efficacy in patients may be modified by coexisting cerebrovascular pathology. We discuss the contributions of cerebral amyloid angiopathy on the development of amyloid-related imaging abnormalities and propose strategies to identify cerebral amyloid angiopathy in patients considered for immunotherapy.
Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease/drug therapy , Amyloid/drug effects , Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/therapeutic use , Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy/drug therapy , Alzheimer Disease/complications , Amyloid beta-Peptides/metabolism , Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy/complications , Humans , Time FactorsABSTRACT
Under certain cellular conditions, functional proteins undergo misfolding, leading to a transition into oligomers which precede the formation of amyloid fibrils. Misfolding proteins are associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. While the importance of lipid membranes in misfolding and disease aetiology is broadly accepted, the influence of lipid membranes during therapeutic design has been largely overlooked. This study utilized a biophysical approach to provide mechanistic insights into the effects of two lipid membrane systems (anionic and zwitterionic) on the inhibition of amyloid-ß 40 and α-synuclein amyloid formation at the monomer, oligomer and fibril level. Large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs) were shown to increase fibrillization and largely decrease the effectiveness of two well-known polyphenol fibril inhibitors, (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and resveratrol; however, use of immunoblotting and ion mobility mass spectrometry revealed this occurs through varying mechanisms. Oligomeric populations in particular were differentially affected by LUVs in the presence of resveratrol, an elongation phase inhibitor, compared to EGCG, a nucleation targeted inhibitor. Ion mobility mass spectrometry showed EGCG interacts with or induces more compact forms of monomeric protein typical of off-pathway structures; however, binding is reduced in the presence of LUVs, likely due to partitioning in the membrane environment. Competing effects of the lipids and inhibitor, along with reduced inhibitor binding in the presence of LUVs, provide a mechanistic understanding of decreased inhibitor efficacy in a lipid environment. Together, this study highlights that amyloid inhibitor design may be misguided if effects of lipid membrane composition and architecture are not considered during development.
Subject(s)
Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor/genetics , Amyloid/genetics , Parkinson Disease/genetics , alpha-Synuclein/genetics , Amyloid/drug effects , Amyloid/ultrastructure , Amyloid beta-Peptides/genetics , Amyloid beta-Peptides/ultrastructure , Amyloidogenic Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors , Amyloidogenic Proteins/genetics , Catechin/analogs & derivatives , Catechin/pharmacology , Humans , Lipid Bilayers/metabolism , Membrane Lipids/genetics , Parkinson Disease/drug therapy , Parkinson Disease/pathology , Phospholipids/biosynthesis , Phospholipids/genetics , Polyphenols/pharmacology , alpha-Synuclein/ultrastructureABSTRACT
Significant research on Alzheimer's disease (AD) has demonstrated that amyloid ß (Aß) oligomers are toxic molecules against neural cells. Thus, determining the generation mechanism of toxic Aß oligomers is crucial for understanding AD pathogenesis. Aß fibrils were reported to be disaggregated by treatment with small compounds, such as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and dopamine (DA), and a loss of fibril shape and decrease in cytotoxicity were observed. However, the characteristics of intermediate products during the fibril disaggregation process are poorly understood. In this study, we found that cytotoxic Aß aggregates are generated during a moderate disaggregation process of Aß fibrils. A cytotoxicity assay revealed that Aß fibrils incubated with a low concentration of EGCG and DA showed higher cytotoxicity than Aß fibrils alone. Atomic force microscopy imaging and circular dichroism spectrometry showed that short and narrow protofilaments, which were highly stable in the ß-sheet structure, were abundant in these moderately disaggregated samples. These results indicate that toxic Aß protofilaments are generated during disaggregation from amyloid fibrils, suggesting that disaggregation of Aß fibrils by small compounds may be one of the possible mechanisms for the generation of toxic Aß aggregates in the brain.
Subject(s)
Amyloid beta-Peptides/pharmacology , Amyloid/chemistry , Catechin/analogs & derivatives , Dopamine/pharmacology , Neuroblastoma/pathology , Amyloid/drug effects , Antioxidants/pharmacology , Catechin/pharmacology , Dopamine Agents/pharmacology , Humans , Neuroblastoma/drug therapy , Neuroblastoma/metabolism , Tumor Cells, CulturedABSTRACT
Neurodegenerative diseases are a group of debilitating maladies involving protein aggregation. To this day, all advances in neurodegenerative disease therapeutics have helped symptomatically but have not prevented the root cause of the disease, i.e., the aggregation of involved proteins. Antibiotics are becoming increasingly obsolete due to the rising multidrug resistance strains of bacteria. Thus, antibiotics, if put to different use as therapeutics against other diseases, could pave a new direction to the world of antibiotics. Hence, we studied the antibiotic levofloxacin for its potential anti-amyloidogenic behavior using human lysozyme, a protein involved in non-systemic amyloidosis, as a model system. At the sub-stoichiometric level, levofloxacin was able to inhibit amyloid formation in human lysozyme as observed by various spectroscopic and microscopic methods, with IC50 values as low as 8.8 ± 0.1 µM. Levofloxacin also displayed a retarding effect on seeding phenomena by elongating the lag-phase (from 0 to 88 h) at lower concentration, and arresting lysozyme fibrillation at the lag stage in sub-stoichiometric concentrations. Structural and computational analyses provided mechanistic insight showing that levofloxacin stabilizes the lysozyme in the native state by binding to the aggregation-prone residues, and thereby inhibiting amyloid fibrillation. Levofloxacin also showed the property of disrupting amyloid fibrils into a smaller polymeric form of proteins which were less cytotoxic as confirmed by hemolytic assay. Therefore, we throw new light on levofloxacin as an amyloid inhibitor and disruptor which could pave way to utilization of levofloxacin as a potential therapeutic against non-systemic amyloidosis and neurodegenerative diseases.
Subject(s)
Amyloid/drug effects , Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial/drug effects , Levofloxacin/pharmacology , Amyloid/biosynthesis , Circular Dichroism , Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial/genetics , Humans , Molecular Docking Simulation , Molecular Dynamics Simulation , Point Mutation , Spectrometry, FluorescenceABSTRACT
Aggregation of α-synuclein (α-Syn) is implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and multiple system atrophy (MSA). Therefore, the removal of α-Syn aggregation could lead to the development of many new therapeutic agents for neurodegenerative diseases. In the present study, we succeeded in generating a new α-Syn stably expressing cell line using a piggyBac transposon system to investigate the neuroprotective effect of the flavonoid kaempferol on α-Syn toxicity. We found that kaempferol provided significant protection against α-Syn-related neurotoxicity. Furthermore, kaempferol induced autophagy through an increase in the biogenesis of lysosomes by inducing the expression of transcription factor EB and reducing the accumulation of α-Syn; thus, kaempferol prevented neuronal cell death. Moreover, kaempferol directly blocked the amyloid fibril formation of α-Syn. These results support the therapeutic potential of kaempferol in diseases such as synucleinopathies that are characterized by α-Syn aggregates.
Subject(s)
Amyloid/drug effects , Autophagy , Kaempferols/pharmacology , Neuroblastoma/drug therapy , Neurotoxicity Syndromes/drug therapy , Protective Agents/pharmacology , alpha-Synuclein/toxicity , Amyloid/metabolism , Animals , Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors/genetics , Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors/metabolism , Lysosomes/drug effects , Lysosomes/metabolism , Mice , Neuroblastoma/etiology , Neuroblastoma/metabolism , Neuroblastoma/pathology , Neurotoxicity Syndromes/etiology , Neurotoxicity Syndromes/metabolism , Neurotoxicity Syndromes/pathologyABSTRACT
Aducanumab has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Clinicians require guidance on the appropriate use of this new therapy. An Expert Panel was assembled to construct Appropriate Use Recommendations based on the participant populations, conduct of the pivotal trials of aducanumab, updated Prescribing Information, and expert consensus. Aducanumab is an amyloid-targeting monoclonal antibody delivered by monthly intravenous infusions. The pivotal trials included patients with early AD (mild cognitive impairment due to AD and mild AD dementia) who had confirmed brain amyloid using amyloid positron tomography. The Expert Panel recommends that use of aducanumab be restricted to this population in which efficacy and safety have been studied. Aducanumab is titrated to a dose of 10 mg/kg over a 6-month period. The Expert Panel recommends that the aducanumab be titrated to the highest dose to maximize the opportunity for efficacy. Aducanumab can substantially increase the incidence of amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA) with brain effusion or hemorrhage. Dose interruption or treatment discontinuation is recommended for symptomatic ARIA and for moderate-severe ARIA. The Expert Panel recommends MRIs prior to initiating therapy, during the titration of the drug, and at any time the patient has symptoms suggestive of ARIA. Recommendations are made for measures less cumbersome than those used in trials for the assessment of effectiveness in the practice setting. The Expert Panel emphasized the critical importance of engaging in a process of patient-centered informed decision-making that includes comprehensive discussions and clear communication with the patient and care partner regarding the requirements for therapy, the expected outcome of therapy, potential risks and side effects, and the required safety monitoring, as well as uncertainties regarding individual responses and benefits.
Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease/drug therapy , Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/therapeutic use , Guidelines as Topic/standards , Amyloid/drug effects , Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/pharmacology , Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions , Humans , Infusions, Intravenous , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , United StatesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Donanemab (LY3002813) is an IgG1 antibody directed at an Nterminal pyroglutamate of amyloid beta epitope that is present only in brain amyloid plaques. OBJECTIVES: To assess effects of donanemab on brain amyloid plaque load after single and multiple intravenous doses, as well as pharmacokinetics, safety/tolerability, and immunogenicity. DESIGN: Phase 1b, investigator- and patient-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study. SETTING: Patients recruited at clinical research sites in the United States and Japan. PARTICIPANTS: 61 amyloid plaque-positive patients with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease and mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease dementia. INTERVENTION: Six cohorts were dosed with donanemab: single dose 10-, 20- or 40- mg/kg (N = 18), multiple doses of 10-mg/kg every 2 weeks for 24 weeks (N = 10), and 10- or 20-mg/kg every 4 weeks for 72 weeks (N=18) or placebo (N = 15). MEASUREMENTS: Brain amyloid plaque load, using florbetapir positron emission tomography, was assessed up to 72 weeks. Safety was evaluated by occurrence of adverse events, magnetic resonance imaging, electrocardiogram, vital signs, laboratory testing, neurological monitoring, and immunogenicity. RESULTS: Treatment with donanemab resulted in rapid reduction of amyloid, even after a single dose. By 24 weeks, amyloid positron emission tomography mean changes from baseline for single donanemab doses in Centiloids were: -16.5 (standard error 11.22) 10-mg/kg intravenous; 40.0 (standard error 11.23) 20 mg/kg intravenous; and -49.6 (standard error 15.10) 40-mg/kg intravenous. Mean reduction of amyloid plaque in multiple dose cohorts by 24 weeks in Centiloids were: 55.8 (standard error 9.51) 10-mg/kg every 2 weeks; -50.2 (standard error 10.54) 10-mg/kg every 4 weeks; and -58.4 (standard error 9.66) 20-mg/kg every 4 weeks. Amyloid on average remained below baseline levels up to 72 weeks after a single dose of donanemab. Repeated dosing resulted in continued florbetapir positron emission tomography reductions over time compared to single dosing with 6 out of 28 patients attaining complete amyloid clearance within 24 weeks. Within these, 5 out of 10 patients in the 20 mg/kg every 4 weeks cohort attained complete amyloid clearance within 36 weeks. When dosing with donanemab was stopped after 24 weeks of repeat dosing in the 10 mg every 2 weeks cohort, florbetapir positron emission tomography reductions were sustained up to 72 weeks. For the single dose cohorts on day 1, dose proportional increases in donanemab pharmacokinetics were observed from 10 to 40 mg/kg. Dose proportional increases in pharmacokinetics were also observed at steady state with the multiple dose cohorts. Donanemab clearance was comparable across the dose levels. Mean donanemab elimination-half-life following 20 mg/kg single dose was 9.3 days with range of 5.6 to 16.2 days. Greater than 90% of patients had positive treatment-emergent antidrug antibodies with donanemab. However, overall, the treatment-emergent antidrug antibodies did not have a significant impact on pharmacokinetics. Donanemab was generally well tolerated. Amongst the 46 participants treated with donanemab, the following amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, common to the drug class, were observed: 12 vasogenic cerebral edema events (12 [19.7%] patients), 10 cerebral microhemorrhage events (6 [13.0%] patients), and 2 superficial siderosis events (2 [4.3%] patients). CONCLUSIONS: Single and multiple doses of donanemab demonstrated a rapid, robust, and sustained reduction up to 72 weeks in brain amyloid plaque despite treatment-emergent antidrug antibodies detected in most patients. Amyloid-related imaging abnormalities were the most common treatment-emergent event.
Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease/drug therapy , Amyloid/drug effects , Antibodies, Monoclonal/therapeutic use , Positron-Emission Tomography , Aged , Aniline Compounds , Cognitive Dysfunction/drug therapy , Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions , Ethylene Glycols , Female , Humans , Japan , Male , Middle Aged , Patient Safety , United StatesABSTRACT
The formation of amyloid-like structures by metabolites is associated with several inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs). These structures display most of the biological, chemical and physical properties of protein amyloids. However, the molecular interactions underlying the assembly remain elusive, and so far, no modulating therapeutic agents are available for clinical use. Chemical chaperones are known to inhibit protein and peptide amyloid formation and stabilize misfolded enzymes. Here, we provide an in-depth characterization of the inhibitory effect of osmolytes and hydrophobic chemical chaperones on metabolite assemblies, thus extending their functional repertoire. We applied a combined in vivo-in vitro-in silico approach and show their ability to inhibit metabolite amyloid-induced toxicity and reduce cellular amyloid content in yeast. We further used various biophysical techniques demonstrating direct inhibition of adenine self-assembly and alteration of fibril morphology by chemical chaperones. Using a scaffold-based approach, we analyzed the physiochemical properties of various dimethyl sulfoxide derivatives and their role in inhibiting metabolite self-assembly. Lastly, we employed whole-atom molecular dynamics simulations to elucidate the role of hydrogen bonds in osmolyte inhibition. Our results imply a dual mode of action of chemical chaperones as IEMs therapeutics, that could be implemented in the rational design of novel lead-like molecules.
Subject(s)
Amyloid/drug effects , Dimethyl Sulfoxide/pharmacology , Adenine/chemistry , Adenine/metabolism , Amyloid/chemistry , Amyloid/metabolism , Dimethyl Sulfoxide/analogs & derivatives , Molecular Dynamics Simulation , Polymerization/drug effects , Saccharomyces cerevisiae , Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins/chemistry , Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins/metabolismABSTRACT
The interplay between α-synuclein and dopamine derivatives is associated with oxidative stress-dependent neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease (PD). The formation in the dopaminergic neurons of intraneuronal inclusions containing aggregates of α-synuclein is a typical hallmark of PD. Even though the biochemical events underlying the aberrant aggregation of α-synuclein are not completely understood, strong evidence correlates this process with the levels of dopamine metabolites. In vitro, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetaldehyde (DOPAL) and the other two metabolites, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethanol (DOPET), share the property to inhibit the growth of mature amyloid fibrils of α-synuclein. Although this effect occurs with the formation of differently toxic products, the molecular basis of this inhibition is still unclear. Here, we provide information on the effect of DOPAC on the aggregation properties of α-synuclein and its ability to interact with membranes. DOPAC inhibits α-synuclein aggregation, stabilizing monomer and inducing the formation of dimers and trimers. DOPAC-induced oligomers did not undergo conformational transition in the presence of membranes, and penetrated the cell, where they triggered autophagic processes. Cellular assays showed that DOPAC reduced cytotoxicity and ROS production induced by α-synuclein aggregates. Our findings show that the early radicals resulting from DOPAC autoxidation produced covalent modifications of the protein, which were not by themselves a primary cause of either fibrillation or membrane binding inhibition. These findings are discussed in the light of the potential mechanism of DOPAC protection against the toxicity of α-synuclein aggregates to better understand protein and catecholamine biology and to eventually suggest a scaffold that can help in the design of candidate molecules able to interfere in α-synuclein aggregation.
Subject(s)
Cell Proliferation/drug effects , Parkinson Disease/genetics , Protein Aggregation, Pathological/genetics , alpha-Synuclein/genetics , 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid/analogs & derivatives , 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid/pharmacology , Amyloid/drug effects , Amyloid/genetics , Dopamine/genetics , Dopamine/metabolism , Dopaminergic Neurons/drug effects , Dopaminergic Neurons/metabolism , Dopaminergic Neurons/pathology , Humans , Oxidative Stress/drug effects , Parkinson Disease/drug therapy , Parkinson Disease/metabolism , Parkinson Disease/pathology , Phenylethyl Alcohol/analogs & derivatives , Phenylethyl Alcohol/pharmacology , Protein Aggregation, Pathological/drug therapy , Protein Multimerization/genetics , alpha-Synuclein/antagonists & inhibitorsABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: The transthyretin (TTR) amyloidoses result from misfolding of the protein leading to fibril formation and aggregation as amyloid deposits in predominantly the cardiovascular and nervous systems. Cardiac involvement can manifest as heart failure, arrhythmias, and valvular disease. Neurologic involvement can cause sensorimotor polyneuropathies, mononeuropathies, and dysautonomia. Previously, treatment has focused on management of these symptoms and disease sequelae, with a high rate of mortality due to the absence of disease-modifying therapies. In this article, we review novel treatments focusing on 3 mechanistic pathways: (1) silencing of the TTR gene to suppress production, (2) stabilizing of TTR tetramers to prevent misfolding, or (3) disrupting of existing TTR amyloid fibrils to promote reabsorption.
Subject(s)
Amyloid Neuropathies, Familial/therapy , Amyloid/drug effects , Cardiomyopathies/therapy , Cardiovascular Agents/therapeutic use , Genetic Therapy , Myocytes, Cardiac/drug effects , Prealbumin/genetics , Amyloid/metabolism , Amyloid Neuropathies, Familial/genetics , Amyloid Neuropathies, Familial/metabolism , Amyloid Neuropathies, Familial/pathology , Animals , Cardiomyopathies/genetics , Cardiomyopathies/metabolism , Cardiomyopathies/pathology , Cardiovascular Agents/adverse effects , Gene Silencing , Genetic Predisposition to Disease , Humans , Mutation , Myocytes, Cardiac/metabolism , Myocytes, Cardiac/pathology , Phenotype , Prealbumin/metabolism , Protein StabilityABSTRACT
Human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP) is widely studied due to its close correlation with the pathogenic mechanism of type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Bioflavonoids have been used in the neurodegeneration and diabetes studies. However, the structure-activity relationship remains unclear in many of these compounds. In this work, we performed diverse biophysical and biochemical methods to explore the inhibition of procyanidine on hIAPP and compared with that on amyloid-ß (Aß) protein which is linked to Alzheimer's disease (AD). The procyanidine effectively inhibited the aggregation of hIAPP and Aß through hydrophobic and hydrogen bonding interactions, it dissolved the aged fibrils into nanoscale particles. The compound also ameliorated the cytotoxicity and the membrane leakage by reducing the peptide oligomerization. The procyanidine showed better binding affinity and inhibitory effects on peptide aggregation and upregulated the cell viability to hIAPP than to Aß, which could be a prospective inhibitor against hIAPP. This work also offered a possible strategy for T2DM and AD treatments.