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Luo K, Chen J, Li H, Wu D, Du Y, Zhao S, Liu T, Li L, Dai Z, Li Y, Zhao Y, Tang L, Fu X. Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of new multi-target scutellarein hybrids for treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Bioorg Chem 2023; 138:106596. [PMID: 37186997 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2023.106596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Scutellarein hybrids were designed, synthesized and evaluated as multifunctional therapeutic agents for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Compounds 11a-i, containing a 2-hydroxymethyl-3,5,6-trimethylpyrazine fragment at the 7-position of scutellarein, were found to have balanced and effective multi-target potencies against AD. Among them, compound 11e exhibited the most potent inhibition of electric eel and human acetylcholinesterase enzymes with IC50 values of 6.72 ± 0.09 and 8.91 ± 0.08 μM, respectively. In addition, compound 11e displayed not only excellent inhibition of self- and Cu2+-induced Aβ1-42 aggregation (91.85% and 85.62%, respectively) but also induced disassembly of self- and Cu2+-induced Aβ fibrils (84.54% and 83.49% disaggregation, respectively). Moreover, 11e significantly reduced tau protein hyperphosphorylation induced by Aβ25-35, and also exhibited good inhibition of platelet aggregation. A neuroprotective assay demonstrated that pre-treatment of PC12 cells with 11e significantly decreased lactate dehydrogenase levels, increased cell viability, enhanced expression of relevant apoptotic proteins (Bcl-2, Bax and caspase-3) and inhibited RSL3-induced PC12 cell ferroptosis. Furthermore, hCMEC/D3 and hPepT1-MDCK cell line permeability assays indicated that 11e would have optimal blood-brain barrier and intestinal absorption characteristics. In addition, in vivo studies revealed that compound 11e significantly attenuated learning and memory impairment in an AD mice model. Toxicity experiments with the compound did not reveal any safety concerns. Notably, 11e significantly reduced β-amyloid precursor protein (APP) and β-site APP cleaving enzyme-1 (BACE-1) protein expression in brain tissue of scopolamine-treated mice. Taken together, these outstanding properties qualified compound 11e as a promising multi-target candidate for AD therapy, worthy of further studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keke Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Functions and Applications of Medicinal Plants, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, Guizhou, China; School of Pharmacy, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, China; National Engineering Research Center of Miao's Medicines & Engineering Research Center for the Development and Application of Ethnic Medicine and TCM, Ministry of Education, Guiyang 550004, Guizhou, China
| | - Jiao Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Functions and Applications of Medicinal Plants, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, Guizhou, China; School of Pharmacy, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, China; National Engineering Research Center of Miao's Medicines & Engineering Research Center for the Development and Application of Ethnic Medicine and TCM, Ministry of Education, Guiyang 550004, Guizhou, China
| | - Hui Li
- State Key Laboratory of Functions and Applications of Medicinal Plants, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, Guizhou, China; School of Pharmacy, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, China; National Engineering Research Center of Miao's Medicines & Engineering Research Center for the Development and Application of Ethnic Medicine and TCM, Ministry of Education, Guiyang 550004, Guizhou, China
| | - Dirong Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Functions and Applications of Medicinal Plants, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, Guizhou, China; School of Pharmacy, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, China; National Engineering Research Center of Miao's Medicines & Engineering Research Center for the Development and Application of Ethnic Medicine and TCM, Ministry of Education, Guiyang 550004, Guizhou, China
| | - Yuanjiang Du
- State Key Laboratory of Functions and Applications of Medicinal Plants, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, Guizhou, China; School of Pharmacy, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, China; National Engineering Research Center of Miao's Medicines & Engineering Research Center for the Development and Application of Ethnic Medicine and TCM, Ministry of Education, Guiyang 550004, Guizhou, China
| | - Shanshan Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Functions and Applications of Medicinal Plants & College of Pharmacy, Guizhou Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center for Chemical Drug R&D, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Ting Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Functions and Applications of Medicinal Plants, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, Guizhou, China; School of Pharmacy, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, China; Guizhou Provincial Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutics, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, China
| | - Li Li
- State Key Laboratory of Functions and Applications of Medicinal Plants, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, Guizhou, China; School of Pharmacy, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, China
| | - Zeqin Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Functions and Applications of Medicinal Plants, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, Guizhou, China; School of Pharmacy, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, China
| | - Yongjun Li
- State Key Laboratory of Functions and Applications of Medicinal Plants, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, Guizhou, China; Guizhou Provincial Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutics, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, China; National Engineering Research Center of Miao's Medicines & Engineering Research Center for the Development and Application of Ethnic Medicine and TCM, Ministry of Education, Guiyang 550004, Guizhou, China
| | - Yonglong Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Functions and Applications of Medicinal Plants, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, Guizhou, China; School of Pharmacy, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, China; National Engineering Research Center of Miao's Medicines & Engineering Research Center for the Development and Application of Ethnic Medicine and TCM, Ministry of Education, Guiyang 550004, Guizhou, China
| | - Lei Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Functions and Applications of Medicinal Plants & College of Pharmacy, Guizhou Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center for Chemical Drug R&D, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550025, China.
| | - Xiaozhong Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Functions and Applications of Medicinal Plants, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, Guizhou, China; School of Pharmacy, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550004, China; National Engineering Research Center of Miao's Medicines & Engineering Research Center for the Development and Application of Ethnic Medicine and TCM, Ministry of Education, Guiyang 550004, Guizhou, China.
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Recent Advances in In Silico Target Fishing. Molecules 2021; 26:molecules26175124. [PMID: 34500568 PMCID: PMC8433825 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26175124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Revised: 08/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
In silico target fishing, whose aim is to identify possible protein targets for a query molecule, is an emerging approach used in drug discovery due its wide variety of applications. This strategy allows the clarification of mechanism of action and biological activities of compounds whose target is still unknown. Moreover, target fishing can be employed for the identification of off targets of drug candidates, thus recognizing and preventing their possible adverse effects. For these reasons, target fishing has increasingly become a key approach for polypharmacology, drug repurposing, and the identification of new drug targets. While experimental target fishing can be lengthy and difficult to implement, due to the plethora of interactions that may occur for a single small-molecule with different protein targets, an in silico approach can be quicker, less expensive, more efficient for specific protein structures, and thus easier to employ. Moreover, the possibility to use it in combination with docking and virtual screening studies, as well as the increasing number of web-based tools that have been recently developed, make target fishing a more appealing method for drug discovery. It is especially worth underlining the increasing implementation of machine learning in this field, both as a main target fishing approach and as a further development of already applied strategies. This review reports on the main in silico target fishing strategies, belonging to both ligand-based and receptor-based approaches, developed and applied in the last years, with a particular attention to the different web tools freely accessible by the scientific community for performing target fishing studies.
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