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Stefan K, Namasivayam V, Stefan SM. Computer-aided pattern scoring - A multitarget dataset-driven workflow to predict ligands of orphan targets. Sci Data 2024; 11:530. [PMID: 38783061 PMCID: PMC11116543 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-024-03343-8] [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: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
The identification of lead molecules and the exploration of novel pharmacological drug targets are major challenges of medical life sciences today. Genome-wide association studies, multi-omics, and systems pharmacology steadily reveal new protein networks, extending the known and relevant disease-modifying proteome. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the disease-modifying proteome consists of 'orphan targets' of which intrinsic ligands/substrates, (patho)physiological roles, and/or modulators are unknown. Undruggability is a major challenge in drug development today, and medicinal chemistry efforts cannot keep up with hit identification and hit-to-lead optimization studies. New 'thinking-outside-the-box' approaches are necessary to identify structurally novel and functionally distinctive ligands for orphan targets. Here we present a unique dataset that includes critical information on the orphan target ABCA1, from which a novel cheminformatic workflow - computer-aided pattern scoring (C@PS) - for the identification of novel ligands was developed. Providing a hit rate of 95.5% and molecules with high potency and molecular-structural diversity, this dataset represents a suitable template for general deorphanization studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katja Stefan
- University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Department of Pathology, Rikshospitalet, Sognsvannsveien 20, 0372, Oslo, Norway
- University of Lübeck and University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Lübeck Institute of Experimental Dermatology, Medical Systems Biology Division, Medicinal Chemistry and Systems Polypharmacology, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23538, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Vigneshwaran Namasivayam
- University of Lübeck and University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Lübeck Institute of Experimental Dermatology, Medical Systems Biology Division, Medicinal Chemistry and Systems Polypharmacology, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23538, Lübeck, Germany.
- University of Bonn, Pharmaceutical Institute, Department of Pharmaceutical and Cellbiological Chemistry, An der Immenburg 4, 53121, Bonn, Germany.
| | - Sven Marcel Stefan
- University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Department of Pathology, Rikshospitalet, Sognsvannsveien 20, 0372, Oslo, Norway.
- University of Lübeck and University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Lübeck Institute of Experimental Dermatology, Medical Systems Biology Division, Medicinal Chemistry and Systems Polypharmacology, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23538, Lübeck, Germany.
- Medical University of Lublin, Department of Biopharmacy, Chodzki 4a, 20-093, Lublin, Poland.
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Majkutewicz I, Kurowska-Rucińska E, Ruciński J, Myślińska D, Grembecka B, Mantej J, Dzik KP. Diverse Efficacy of Dimethyl Fumarate in Alleviating the Late Streptozotocin-Induced Cognitive Impairment and Neuropathological Features in Rat. Mol Neurobiol 2024:10.1007/s12035-024-04024-8. [PMID: 38430351 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-024-04024-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
Our previous study showed that dimethyl fumarate (DMF) treatment performed within three weeks after intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection of streptozotocin (STZ) attenuated spatial memory impairment, hippocampal neurodegeneration, and neuroinflammation in rats. The present study is aimed at verifying the hypothesis that DMF alleviates late effects of STZ (6 months after ICV injection) which reflects advanced stage of the Alzheimer's disease (AD) in human patients. Spatial memory was assessed with Morris water maze (MWM), general brain level of amyloid β (Aβ) and p-tau was measured by western blot, immunofluorescent labelling of active microglia (IBA1), Aβ and p-tau and histological assay of neurodegeneration (Fluoro-Jade C) were performed in hippocampus and cortex. Two-week oral therapy with DMF normalized spatial memory disrupted by STZ but had no influence on general brain level of Aβ and p-tau. However, immunofluorescence showed local reduction of Aβ aggregates number in parietal cortex and p-tau+ cells in CA2 hippocampal area. Microgliosis was alleviated by DMF in CA1 area and parietal cortex. DMF-treated STZ injected rats showed higher number of Aβ containing microglia than untreated group in CA2 and frontal cortex, which may be the result of increased phagocytic activity in these areas after DMF treatment. STZ-induced neurodegeneration was alleviated by DMF in dentate gyrus and frontal cortex. In conclusion DMF treatment exerts beneficial effect on spatial memory in the rat model of late stage of AD, but weakly influences neuropathological features, as only local reduction in number of Aβ aggregates, p-tau containing cells, neurodegeneration, and microgliosis was found.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irena Majkutewicz
- Department of Animal and Human Physiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland.
| | | | - Jan Ruciński
- Department of Animal and Human Physiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Dorota Myślińska
- Department of Animal and Human Physiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Beata Grembecka
- Department of Animal and Human Physiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Jagoda Mantej
- Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Katarzyna P Dzik
- Department of Animal and Human Physiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
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Wang T, Sobue A, Watanabe S, Komine O, Saido TC, Saito T, Yamanaka K. Dimethyl fumarate improves cognitive impairment and neuroinflammation in mice with Alzheimer's disease. J Neuroinflammation 2024; 21:55. [PMID: 38383481 PMCID: PMC10882778 DOI: 10.1186/s12974-024-03046-2] [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: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neuroinflammation substantially contributes to the pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common form of dementia. Studies have reported that nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) attenuates neuroinflammation in the mouse models of neurodegenerative diseases, however, the detailed mechanism remains unclear. METHODS The effects of dimethyl fumarate (DMF), a clinically used drug to activate the Nrf2 pathway, on neuroinflammation were analyzed in primary astrocytes and AppNL-G-F (App-KI) mice. The cognitive function and behavior of DMF-administrated App-KI mice were evaluated. For the gene expression analysis, microglia and astrocytes were directly isolated from the mouse cerebral cortex by magnetic-activated cell sorting, followed by quantitative PCR. RESULTS DMF treatment activated some Nrf2 target genes and inhibited the expression of proinflammatory markers in primary astrocytes. Moreover, chronic oral administration of DMF attenuated neuroinflammation, particularly in astrocytes, and reversed cognitive dysfunction presumably by activating the Nrf2-dependent pathway in App-KI mice. Furthermore, DMF administration inhibited the expression of STAT3/C3 and C3 receptor in astrocytes and microglia isolated from App-KI mice, respectively, suggesting that the astrocyte-microglia crosstalk is involved in neuroinflammation in mice with AD. CONCLUSION The activation of astrocytic Nrf2 signaling confers neuroprotection in mice with AD by controlling neuroinflammation, particularly by regulating astrocytic C3-STAT3 signaling. Furthermore, our study has implications for the repositioning of DMF as a drug for AD treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Wang
- Department of Neuroscience and Pathobiology, Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Nagoya University, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan
- Department of Neuroscience and Pathobiology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Aichi, Japan
| | - Akira Sobue
- Department of Neuroscience and Pathobiology, Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Nagoya University, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan.
- Medical Interactive Research and Academia Industry Collaboration Center, Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Nagoya University, Aichi, Japan.
| | - Seiji Watanabe
- Department of Neuroscience and Pathobiology, Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Nagoya University, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan
| | - Okiru Komine
- Department of Neuroscience and Pathobiology, Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Nagoya University, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan
| | - Takaomi C Saido
- Laboratory for Proteolytic Neuroscience, RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Saitama, Japan
| | - Takashi Saito
- Department of Neuroscience and Pathobiology, Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Nagoya University, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan
- Department of Neurocognitive Science, Institute of Brain Science, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Aichi, Japan
| | - Koji Yamanaka
- Department of Neuroscience and Pathobiology, Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Nagoya University, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan.
- Department of Neuroscience and Pathobiology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Aichi, Japan.
- Institute for Glyco-Core Research (iGCORE), Nagoya University, Aichi, Japan.
- Center for One Medicine Innovative Translational Research (COMIT), Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
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El Menuawy A, Brüning T, Eiriz I, Hähnel U, Marthe F, Möhle L, Górska AM, Santos-García I, Wangensteen H, Wu J, Pahnke J. Apolar Extracts of St. John's Wort Alleviate the Effects of β-Amyloid Toxicity in Early Alzheimer's Disease. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:1301. [PMID: 38279301 PMCID: PMC10816143 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25021301] [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: 12/11/2023] [Revised: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 01/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Hypericum perforatum (St. John's wort) has been described to be beneficial for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Different extractions have demonstrated efficiency in mice and humans, esp. extracts with a low hypericin and hyperforin content to reduce side effects such as phototoxicity. In order to systematically elucidate the therapeutic effects of H. perforatum extracts with different polarities, APP-transgenic mice were treated with a total ethanol extract (TE), a polar extract obtained from TE, and an apolar supercritical CO2 (scCO2) extract. The scCO2 extract was formulated with silicon dioxide (SiO2) for better oral application. APP-transgenic mice were treated with several extracts (total, polar, apolar) at different concentrations. We established an early treatment paradigm from the age of 40 days until the age of 80 days, starting before the onset of cerebral β-amyloid (Aβ) deposition at 45 days of age. Their effects on intracerebral soluble and insoluble Aβ were analyzed using biochemical analyses. Our study confirms that the scCO2H. perforatum formulation shows better biological activity against Aβ-related pathological effects than the TE or polar extracts. Clinically, the treatment resulted in a dose-dependent improvement in food intake with augmentation of the body weight, and, biochemically, it resulted in a significant reduction in both soluble and insoluble Aβ (-27% and -25%, respectively). We therefore recommend apolar H. perforatum extracts for the early oral treatment of patients with mild cognitive impairment or early AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed El Menuawy
- Translational Neurodegeneration Research and Neuropathology Lab/Section of Neuropathology Research, Department of Pathology, Medical Faculty/KlinMED, University of Oslo (UiO) and Oslo University Hospital (OUS), Sognsvannsveien 20, 0372 Oslo, Norway
- Institute for Breeding Research on Horticultural Crops, Julius Kühn Institute (JKI)—Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Erwin-Baur Straße 27, 06484 Quedlinburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Brüning
- Translational Neurodegeneration Research and Neuropathology Lab/Section of Neuropathology Research, Department of Pathology, Medical Faculty/KlinMED, University of Oslo (UiO) and Oslo University Hospital (OUS), Sognsvannsveien 20, 0372 Oslo, Norway
| | - Iván Eiriz
- Translational Neurodegeneration Research and Neuropathology Lab/Section of Neuropathology Research, Department of Pathology, Medical Faculty/KlinMED, University of Oslo (UiO) and Oslo University Hospital (OUS), Sognsvannsveien 20, 0372 Oslo, Norway
| | - Urs Hähnel
- Institute for Breeding Research on Horticultural Crops, Julius Kühn Institute (JKI)—Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Erwin-Baur Straße 27, 06484 Quedlinburg, Germany
| | - Frank Marthe
- Institute for Breeding Research on Horticultural Crops, Julius Kühn Institute (JKI)—Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Erwin-Baur Straße 27, 06484 Quedlinburg, Germany
| | - Luisa Möhle
- Translational Neurodegeneration Research and Neuropathology Lab/Section of Neuropathology Research, Department of Pathology, Medical Faculty/KlinMED, University of Oslo (UiO) and Oslo University Hospital (OUS), Sognsvannsveien 20, 0372 Oslo, Norway
| | - Anna Maria Górska
- Translational Neurodegeneration Research and Neuropathology Lab/Section of Neuropathology Research, Department of Pathology, Medical Faculty/KlinMED, University of Oslo (UiO) and Oslo University Hospital (OUS), Sognsvannsveien 20, 0372 Oslo, Norway
| | - Irene Santos-García
- Translational Neurodegeneration Research and Neuropathology Lab/Section of Neuropathology Research, Department of Pathology, Medical Faculty/KlinMED, University of Oslo (UiO) and Oslo University Hospital (OUS), Sognsvannsveien 20, 0372 Oslo, Norway
| | - Helle Wangensteen
- Section for Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo (UiO), Sem Sælands vei 3, 0371 Oslo, Norway
| | - Jingyun Wu
- Translational Neurodegeneration Research and Neuropathology Lab/Section of Neuropathology Research, Department of Pathology, Medical Faculty/KlinMED, University of Oslo (UiO) and Oslo University Hospital (OUS), Sognsvannsveien 20, 0372 Oslo, Norway
| | - Jens Pahnke
- Translational Neurodegeneration Research and Neuropathology Lab/Section of Neuropathology Research, Department of Pathology, Medical Faculty/KlinMED, University of Oslo (UiO) and Oslo University Hospital (OUS), Sognsvannsveien 20, 0372 Oslo, Norway
- Institute of Nutritional Medicine (INUM) and Lübeck Institute of Dermatology (LIED), University of Lübeck (UzL) and University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH), Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23538 Lübeck, Germany
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Latvia, Jelgavas iela 3, 1004 Rīga, Latvia
- Department of Neurobiology, School of Neuroscience, Biochemistry and Biophysics, The Georg S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
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