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Ganegamage S, Ramirez E, Alnakhala H, Tripathi A, Nguyen CCD, Zami A, Ostafe R, Tian S, Dettmer U, Fortin JS. 1,4-Diurea- and 1,4-Dithiourea-Substituted Aromatic Derivatives Selectively Inhibit α-Synuclein Oligomer Formation In Vitro. ACS OMEGA 2024; 9:1216-1229. [PMID: 38222653 PMCID: PMC10785335 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c07453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Revised: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, affecting the elderly population worldwide. In PD, the misfolding of α-synuclein (α-syn) results in the formation of inclusions referred to as Lewy bodies (LB) in midbrain neurons of the substantia nigra and other specific brain localizations, which is associated with neurodegeneration. There are no approved strategies to reduce the formation of LB in the neurons of patients with PD. Our drug discovery program focuses on the synthesis of urea and thiourea compounds coupled with aminoindole moieties to abrogate α-syn aggregation and to slow down the progression of PD. We synthesized several urea and thiourea analogues with a central 1,4-phenyl diurea/thiourea linkage and evaluated their effectiveness in reducing α-syn aggregation with a special focus on the selective inhibition of oligomer formation among other proteins. We utilized biophysical methods such as thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence assays, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), photoinduced cross-linking of unmodified proteins (PICUP), as well as M17D intracellular inclusion cell-based assays to evaluate the antiaggregation properties and cellular protection of our best compounds. Our results identified compound 1 as the best compound in reducing α-syn fibril formation via ThT assays. The antioligomer formation of compound 1 was subsequently superseded by compound 2. Both compounds selectively curtailed the oligomer formation of α-syn but not tau 4R isoforms (0N4R, 2N4R) or p-tau (isoform 1N4R). Compounds 1 and 2 failed to abrogate tau 0N3R fibril formation by ThT and atomic force microscopy. Compound 2 was best at reducing the formation of recombinant α-syn fibrils by TEM. In contrast to compound 2, compound 1 reduced the formation of α-syn inclusions in M17D neuroblastoma cells in a dose-dependent manner. Compound 1 may provide molecular scaffolds for the optimization of symmetric molecules for its α-syn antiaggregation activity with potential therapeutic applications and development of small molecules in PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susantha
K. Ganegamage
- Department
of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
| | - Eduardo Ramirez
- Department
of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
| | - Heba Alnakhala
- Ann
Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical
School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Arati Tripathi
- Ann
Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical
School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Cuong Calvin Duc Nguyen
- Department
of Chemistry, College of Sciences, Purdue
University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
| | - Ashique Zami
- Purdue
Institute for Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Disease, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
| | - Raluca Ostafe
- Purdue
Institute for Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Disease, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
| | - Shiliang Tian
- Department
of Chemistry, College of Sciences, Purdue
University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
| | - Ulf Dettmer
- Ann
Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical
School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Jessica S. Fortin
- Department
of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
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Ramirez E, Ganegamage SK, Min S, Patel H, Ogunware A, Plascencia-Villa G, Alnakhala H, Shimanaka K, Tripathi A, Wang KW, Zhu X, Rochet JC, Kuo MH, Counts SE, Perry G, Dettmer U, Lasagna-Reeves CA, Fortin JS. Evaluation of N- and O-Linked Indole Triazines for a Dual Effect on α-Synuclein and Tau Aggregation. ACS Chem Neurosci 2023; 14:3913-3927. [PMID: 37818657 PMCID: PMC10624178 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.3c00464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder underlying dementia in the geriatric population. AD manifests by two pathological hallmarks: extracellular amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide-containing senile plaques and intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles comprised of aggregated hyperphosphorylated tau protein (p-tau). However, more than half of AD cases also display the presence of aggregated α-synuclein (α-syn)-containing Lewy bodies. Conversely, Lewy bodies disorders have been reported to have concomitant Aβ plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Our drug discovery program focuses on the synthesis of multitarget-directed ligands to abrogate aberrant α-syn, tau (2N4R), and p-tau (1N4R) aggregation and to slow the progression of AD and related dementias. To this end, we synthesized 11 compounds with a triazine-linker and evaluated their effectiveness in reducing α-syn, tau isoform 2N4R, and p-tau isoform 1N4R aggregation. We utilized biophysical methods such as thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence assays, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), photoinduced cross-linking of unmodified proteins (PICUP), and M17D intracellular inclusion cell-based assays to evaluate the antiaggregation properties and cellular protection of our best compounds. We also performed disaggregation assays with isolated Aβ-plaques from human AD brains. Our results demonstrated that compound 10 was effective in reducing both oligomerization and fibril formation of α-syn and tau isoform 2N4R in a dose-dependent manner via ThT and PICUP assays. Compound 10 was also effective at reducing the formation of recombinant α-syn, tau 2N4R, and p-tau 1N4R fibrils by TEM. Compound 10 reduced the development of α-syn inclusions in M17D neuroblastoma cells and stopped the seeding of tau P301S using biosensor cells. Disaggregation experiments showed smaller Aβ-plaques and less paired helical filaments with compound 10. Compound 10 may provide molecular scaffolds for further optimization and preclinical studies for neurodegenerative proteinopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo Ramirez
- Department
of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
| | - Susantha K. Ganegamage
- Department
of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
| | - Sehong Min
- Department
of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
| | - Henika Patel
- Department
of Anatomy Cell Biology and Physiology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202, United States
| | - Adedayo Ogunware
- Department
of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78249, United States
| | - Germán Plascencia-Villa
- Department
of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78249, United States
| | - Heba Alnakhala
- Ann
Romney
Center for Neurologic Diseases, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical
School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Kazuma Shimanaka
- Ann
Romney
Center for Neurologic Diseases, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical
School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Arati Tripathi
- Ann
Romney
Center for Neurologic Diseases, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical
School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Kuang-Wei Wang
- Department
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Natural Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - Xiongwei Zhu
- Department
of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, United States
| | - Jean-Christophe Rochet
- Department
of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
| | - Min-Hao Kuo
- Department
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Natural Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - Scott E. Counts
- Department
of Translational Neuroscience, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503, United States
| | - George Perry
- Department
of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78249, United States
| | - Ulf Dettmer
- Ann
Romney
Center for Neurologic Diseases, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical
School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Cristian A. Lasagna-Reeves
- Department
of Anatomy Cell Biology and Physiology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202, United States
| | - Jessica S. Fortin
- Department
of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
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