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Maniam S, Maniam S. Screening Techniques for Drug Discovery in Alzheimer's Disease. ACS OMEGA 2024; 9:6059-6073. [PMID: 38371787 PMCID: PMC10870277 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c07046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/25/2023] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive and irreversible impairment of memory and other cognitive functions of the aging brain. Pathways such as amyloid beta neurotoxicity, tau pathogenesis and neuroinflammatory have been used to understand AD, despite not knowing the definite molecular mechanism which causes this progressive disease. This review attempts to summarize the small molecules that target these pathways using various techniques involving high-throughput screening, molecular modeling, custom bioassays, and spectroscopic detection tools. Novel and evolving screening methods developed to advance drug discovery initiatives in AD research are also highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Maniam
- Department
of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
| | - Subashani Maniam
- School
of Science, STEM College, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia
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Pham AQ, Dore K. Novel approaches to increase synaptic resilience as potential treatments for Alzheimer's disease. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2023; 139:84-92. [PMID: 35370089 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2022.03.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2022] [Revised: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
A significant proportion of brains with Alzheimer's disease pathology are obtained from patients that were cognitively normal, suggesting that differences within the brains of these individuals made them resilient to the disease. Here, we describe recent approaches that specifically increase synaptic resilience, as loss of synapses is considered to be the first change in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. We start by discussing studies showing benefit from increased expression of neurotrophic factors and protective genes. Methods that effectively make dendritic spines stronger, specifically by acting through actin network proteins, scaffolding proteins and inhibition of phosphatases are described next. Importantly, the therapeutic strategies presented in this review tackle Alzheimer's disease not by targeting plaques and tangles, but instead by making synapses resilient to the pathology associated with Alzheimer's disease, which has tremendous potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Q Pham
- Department of Neurosciences, Center for Neural Circuits and Behavior, UCSD, La Jolla 92093, United States
| | - Kim Dore
- Department of Neurosciences, Center for Neural Circuits and Behavior, UCSD, La Jolla 92093, United States.
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Baranowski MR, Wu J, Han YN, Lambert LJ, Cosford NDP, Tautz L. Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Biochemical Inhibition Assays. Bio Protoc 2022; 12:e4510. [PMID: 36248604 PMCID: PMC9516250 DOI: 10.21769/bioprotoc.4510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2022] [Revised: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Disturbance of the dynamic balance between protein tyrosine phosphorylation and dephosphorylation, modulated by protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) and protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs), is known to be crucial for the development of many human diseases. The discovery of agents that restore this balance has been the subject of many drug research efforts, most of which have focused on tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), resulting in the development of more than 50 FDA-approved TKIs during the past two decades. More recently, accumulating evidence has suggested that members of the PTP superfamily are also promising drug targets, and efforts to discover tyrosine phosphatase inhibitors (TPIs) have increased dramatically. Here, we provide protocols for determining the potency of TPIs in vitro. We focus on the use of fluorescence-based substrates, which exhibit a dramatic increase in fluorescence emission when dephosphorylated by the PTP, and thus allow setting up highly sensitive and miniaturized phosphatase activity assays using 384-well or 1536-well microplates and a continuous (kinetic) assay format. The protocols cover PTP specific activity assays, Michaelis-Menten kinetics, dose-response inhibition assays, and dose-response data analysis for determining IC 50 values. Potential pitfalls are also discussed. While advanced instrumentation is utilized for compound spotting and liquid dispensing, all the assays can be adapted to existing equipment in most laboratories. Assays are described for selected PTP drug targets, including SHP2 ( PTPN11 ), PTP1B ( PTPN1 ), STEP ( PTPN5 ), and VHR ( DUSP3 ). However, all protocols are applicable to members of the PTP enzyme family in general. Graphical abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marek R. Baranowski
- NCI-Designated Cancer Center, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, 10901 N Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
- Division of Biophysics, Institute of Experimental Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, Ludwika Pasteura 5, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Jiaqian Wu
- NCI-Designated Cancer Center, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, 10901 N Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Ye Na Han
- NCI-Designated Cancer Center, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, 10901 N Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Lester J. Lambert
- NCI-Designated Cancer Center, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, 10901 N Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Nicholas D. P. Cosford
- NCI-Designated Cancer Center, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, 10901 N Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Lutz Tautz
- NCI-Designated Cancer Center, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, 10901 N Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
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Wang KC, Lu MC, Hsu KC, El-Shazly M, Shih SP, Lien ST, Kuo FW, Yang SC, Chen CL, Yang YCSH. The Antileukemic Effect of Xestoquinone, A Marine-Derived Polycyclic Quinone-Type Metabolite, Is Mediated through ROS-Induced Inhibition of HSP-90. Molecules 2021; 26:molecules26227037. [PMID: 34834129 PMCID: PMC8619641 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26227037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2021] [Revised: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Xestoquinone is a polycyclic quinone-type metabolite with a reported antitumor effect. We tested the cytotoxic activity of xestoquinone on a series of hematological cancer cell lines. The antileukemic effect of xestoquinone was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. This marine metabolite suppressed the proliferation of Molt-4, K562, and Sup-T1 cells with IC50 values of 2.95 ± 0.21, 6.22 ± 0.21, and 8.58 ± 0.60 µM, respectively, as demonstrated by MTT assay. In the cell-free system, it inhibited the activity of topoisomerase I (Topo I) and II (Topo II) by 50% after treatment with 0.235 and 0.094 μM, respectively. The flow cytometric analysis indicated that the cytotoxic effect of xestoquinone was mediated through the induction of multiple apoptotic pathways in Molt-4 cells. The pretreatment of Molt-4 cells with N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) diminished the disruption of the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and apoptosis, as well as retaining the expression of both Topo I and II. In the nude mice xenograft model, the administration of xestoquinone (1 μg/g) significantly attenuated tumor growth by 31.2% compared with the solvent control. Molecular docking, Western blotting, and thermal shift assay verified the catalytic inhibitory activity of xestoquinone by high binding affinity to HSP-90 and Topo I/II. Our findings indicated that xestoquinone targeted leukemia cancer cells through multiple pathways, suggesting its potential application as an antileukemic drug lead.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kuan-Chih Wang
- School of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan;
| | - Mei-Chin Lu
- Graduate Institute of Marine Biology, National Dong Hwa University, Pingtung 944, Taiwan; (M.-C.L.); (F.-W.K.)
- National Museum of Marine Biology & Aquarium, Pingtung 944, Taiwan
| | - Kai-Cheng Hsu
- Graduate Institute of Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan; (K.-C.H.); (S.-T.L.)
- Ph.D. Program for Cancer Molecular Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan
- TMU Research Center of Drug Discovery, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan
| | - Mohamed El-Shazly
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain-Shams University, Organization of African Unity Street, Cairo 11566, Egypt;
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, German University in Cairo, Cairo 11835, Egypt
| | - Shou-Ping Shih
- Doctoral Degree Program in Marine Biotechnology, National Sun Yat-Sen University (NSYSU), Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan;
- Doctoral Degree Program in Marine Biotechnology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan
| | - Ssu-Ting Lien
- Graduate Institute of Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan; (K.-C.H.); (S.-T.L.)
| | - Fu-Wen Kuo
- Graduate Institute of Marine Biology, National Dong Hwa University, Pingtung 944, Taiwan; (M.-C.L.); (F.-W.K.)
- National Museum of Marine Biology & Aquarium, Pingtung 944, Taiwan
| | - Shyh-Chyun Yang
- School of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan;
- Department of Fragrance and Cosmetic Science, College of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
- Correspondence: (S.-C.Y.); (C.-L.C.); (Y.-C.S.H.Y.)
| | - Chun-Lin Chen
- Doctoral Degree Program in Marine Biotechnology, National Sun Yat-Sen University (NSYSU), Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan;
- Department of Biological Sciences, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan
- Department of Biotechnology, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Natural Products, College of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
- Correspondence: (S.-C.Y.); (C.-L.C.); (Y.-C.S.H.Y.)
| | - Yu-Chen S. H. Yang
- Joint Biobank, Office of Human Research, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan
- Correspondence: (S.-C.Y.); (C.-L.C.); (Y.-C.S.H.Y.)
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The coming together of allosteric and phosphorylation mechanisms in the molecular integration of A2A heteroreceptor complexes in the dorsal and ventral striatal-pallidal GABA neurons. Pharmacol Rep 2021; 73:1096-1108. [PMID: 34426901 PMCID: PMC8413191 DOI: 10.1007/s43440-021-00314-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2021] [Revised: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
The role of adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR) and striatal-enriched protein tyrosine phosphatase (STEP) interactions in the striatal-pallidal GABA neurons was recently discussed in relation to A2AR overexpression and cocaine-induced increases of brain adenosine levels. As to phosphorylation, combined activation of A2AR and metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) in the striatal-pallidal GABA neurons appears necessary for phosphorylation of the GluA1 unit of the AMPA receptor to take place. Robert Yasuda (J Neurochem 152: 270–272, 2020) focused on finding a general mechanism by which STEP activation is enhanced by increased A2AR transmission in striatal-pallidal GABA neurons expressing A2AR and dopamine D2 receptor. In his Editorial, he summarized in a clear way the significant effects of A2AR activation on STEP in the dorsal striatal-pallidal GABA neurons which involves a rise of intracellular levels of calcium causing STEP activation through its dephosphorylation. However, the presence of the A2AR in an A2AR-fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) heteroreceptor complex can be required in the dorsal striatal-pallidal GABA neurons for the STEP activation. Furthermore, Won et al. (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 116: 8028–8037, 2019) found in mass spectrometry experiments that the STEP splice variant STEP61 can bind to mGluR5 and inactivate it. In addition, A2AR overexpression can lead to increased formation of A2AR-mGluR5 heterocomplexes in ventral striatal-pallidal GABA neurons. It involves enhanced facilitatory allosteric interactions leading to increased Gq-mediated mGluR5 signaling activating STEP. The involvement of both A2AR and STEP in the actions of cocaine on synaptic downregulation was also demonstrated. The enhancement of mGluR5 protomer activity by the A2AR protomer in A2AR-mGluR5 heterocomplexes in the nucleus accumbens shell appears to have a novel significant role in STEP mechanisms by both enhancing the activation of STEP and being a target for STEP61.
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