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Ali T, Klein AN, Vu A, Arifin MI, Hannaoui S, Gilch S. Peptide aptamer targeting Aβ-PrP-Fyn axis reduces Alzheimer's disease pathologies in 5XFAD transgenic mouse model. Cell Mol Life Sci 2023; 80:139. [PMID: 37149826 PMCID: PMC10164677 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-023-04785-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2022] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/22/2023] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Currently, no effective therapeutics exist for the treatment of incurable neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). The cellular prion protein (PrPC) acts as a high-affinity receptor for amyloid beta oligomers (AβO), a main neurotoxic species mediating AD pathology. The interaction of AβO with PrPC subsequently activates Fyn tyrosine kinase and neuroinflammation. Herein, we used our previously developed peptide aptamer 8 (PA8) binding to PrPC as a therapeutic to target the AβO-PrP-Fyn axis and prevent its associated pathologies. Our in vitro results indicated that PA8 prevents the binding of AβO with PrPC and reduces AβO-induced neurotoxicity in mouse neuroblastoma N2a cells and primary hippocampal neurons. Next, we performed in vivo experiments using the transgenic 5XFAD mouse model of AD. The 5XFAD mice were treated with PA8 and its scaffold protein thioredoxin A (Trx) at a 14.4 µg/day dosage for 12 weeks by intraventricular infusion through Alzet® osmotic pumps. We observed that treatment with PA8 improves learning and memory functions of 5XFAD mice as compared to Trx-treated 5XFAD mice. We found that PA8 treatment significantly reduces AβO levels and Aβ plaques in the brain tissue of 5XFAD mice. Interestingly, PA8 significantly reduces AβO-PrP interaction and its downstream signaling such as phosphorylation of Fyn kinase, reactive gliosis as well as apoptotic neurodegeneration in the 5XFAD mice compared to Trx-treated 5XFAD mice. Collectively, our results demonstrate that treatment with PA8 targeting the AβO-PrP-Fyn axis is a promising and novel approach to prevent and treat AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tahir Ali
- Calgary Prion Research Unit, Department of Comparative Biology & Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 4Z6, Canada
- Cumming School of Medicine, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Antonia N Klein
- Calgary Prion Research Unit, Department of Comparative Biology & Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 4Z6, Canada
- Cumming School of Medicine, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Alex Vu
- Calgary Prion Research Unit, Department of Comparative Biology & Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 4Z6, Canada
- Cumming School of Medicine, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Maria I Arifin
- Calgary Prion Research Unit, Department of Comparative Biology & Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 4Z6, Canada
- Cumming School of Medicine, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Samia Hannaoui
- Calgary Prion Research Unit, Department of Comparative Biology & Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 4Z6, Canada
- Cumming School of Medicine, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Sabine Gilch
- Calgary Prion Research Unit, Department of Comparative Biology & Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 4Z6, Canada.
- Cumming School of Medicine, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
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Wang Y, Jiang X, Feng F, Liu W, Sun H. Degradation of proteins by PROTACs and other strategies. Acta Pharm Sin B 2020; 10:207-238. [PMID: 32082969 PMCID: PMC7016280 DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2019.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 174] [Impact Index Per Article: 43.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2019] [Revised: 07/19/2019] [Accepted: 07/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Blocking the biological functions of scaffold proteins and aggregated proteins is a challenging goal. PROTAC proteolysis-targeting chimaera (PROTAC) technology may be the solution, considering its ability to selectively degrade target proteins. Recent progress in the PROTAC strategy include identification of the structure of the first ternary eutectic complex, extra-terminal domain-4-PROTAC-Von-Hippel-Lindau (BRD4-PROTAC-VHL), and PROTAC ARV-110 has entered clinical trials for the treatment of prostate cancer in 2019. These discoveries strongly proved the value of the PROTAC strategy. In this perspective, we summarized recent meaningful research of PROTAC, including the types of degradation proteins, preliminary biological data in vitro and in vivo, and new E3 ubiquitin ligases. Importantly, the molecular design, optimization strategy and clinical application of candidate molecules are highlighted in detail. Future perspectives for development of advanced PROTAC in medical fields have also been discussed systematically.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Wang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Key Laboratory of Drug Quality Control and Pharmacovigilance, Ministry of Education, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Xueyang Jiang
- Department of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, China
| | - Feng Feng
- Jiangsu Food and Pharmaceutical Science College, Huaian 223003, China
- Department of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, China
| | - Wenyuan Liu
- Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Key Laboratory of Drug Quality Control and Pharmacovigilance, Ministry of Education, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Haopeng Sun
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, China
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