Why Is Tetradentate Coordination Essential for Potential Copper Homeostasis Regulators in Alzheimer's Disease?

Spin state dependent peroxidase activity of heme bound amyloid β peptides relevant to Alzheimer's disease

The colocalization of heme rich deposits in the senile plaque of Aβ in the cerebral cortex of the Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain along with altered heme homeostasis and heme deficiency symptoms in AD patients has invoked the association of heme in AD pathology. Heme bound Aβ complexes, depending on the concentration of the complex or peptide to heme ratio, exhibit an equilibrium between a high-spin mono-His bound peroxidase-type active site and a low-spin bis-His bound cytochrome b type active site. The high-spin heme-Aβ complex shows higher peroxidase activity than free heme, where compound I is the reactive oxidant. It is also capable of oxidizing neurotransmitters like serotonin in the presence of peroxide, owing to the formation of compound I. The low-spin bis-His heme-Aβ complex on the other hand shows enhanced peroxidase activity relative to high-spin heme-Aβ. It reacts with H₂O₂ to produce two stable intermediates, compound 0 and compound I, which are characterized by absorption, EPR and resonance Raman spectroscopy. The stability of compound I of low-spin heme-Aβ is accountable for its enhanced peroxidase activity and oxidation of the neurotransmitter serotonin. The effect of the second sphere Tyr10 residue of Aβ on the formation and stability of the intermediates of low-spin heme-Aβ has also been investigated. The higher stability of compound I for low-spin heme-Aβ is likely due to H-bonding interactions involving Tyr10 in the distal pocket.

Synthesis and Antimalarial Activities of New Hybrid Atokel Molecules

The currently spreading resistance of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum to artemisinin-based combination therapies makes an urgent need for new efficient drugs. Aiming to kill artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium, a series of novel hybrid drugs named Atokels were synthesized and characterized. Atokels are based on an 8-amino- or 8-hydroxyquinoline entity covalently bound to a 1,4-naphthoquinone through a polyamine linker. These drugs have been designed to target the parasite mitochondrion by their naphthoquinone moiety reminiscent of the antimalarial drug atovaquone, and to trigger a damaging oxidative stress due to their ability to chelate metal ions in order to generate redox active complexes in situ. The most effective Atokel drug shown a promising antimalarial activity (IC50 =622 nm on an artemisinin-resistant P. falciparum strain) and no cytotoxicity at 50 μm indicating a specific antiplasmodial mode of action.

Development of affinity bead-based in vitro metal-ligand binding assay reveals dominant cadmium affinity of thiol-rich small peptides phytochelatins beyond glutathione

For a better understanding of metal-ligand interaction and its function in cells, we developed an easy, sensitive, and high-throughput method to quantify ligand-metal(loid) binding affinity under physiological conditions by combining ligand-attached affinity beads and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Glutathione (GSH) and two phytochelatins (PC2 and PC3, small peptides with different numbers of free thiols) were employed as model ligands and attached to hydrophilic beads. The principle of the assay resembles that of affinity purification of proteins in biochemistry: metals binding to the ligand on the beads and the rest in the buffer are separated by a spin column and quantified by ICP-OES. The binding assay using the GSH-attached beads and various metal(loid)s suggested the different affinity of the metal-GSH interactions, in accordance with the order of the Irving-Williams series and the reported stability constants. The binding assay using PC2 or PC3-attached beads suggested positive binding between PCs and Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II), and As(III) in accordance with the number of thiols in PC2 and PC3. We then conducted the competition assay using Cd(II), Mn(II), Fe(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II), and the results suggested a better binding affinity of PC2 with Cd(II) than with the essential metals. Another competition assay using PC2 and GSH suggested a robust binding affinity between PCs and Cd(II) compared to GSH and Cd(II). These results suggested the dominance of PC-Cd complex formation in vitro, supporting the physiological importance of PCs for the detoxification of cadmium in vivo. We also discuss the potential application of the assay.

Salpyran: A Cu(II) Selective Chelator with Therapeutic Potential

We report the rational design of a tunable Cu(II) chelating scaffold, 2-(((2-((pyridin-2-ylmethyl)amino)ethyl)amino)methyl)phenol, Salpyran (HL). This tetradentate ligand is predicated to have suitable permeation, has an extremely high affinity for Cu compared to clioquinol (pCu_7.4 = 10.65 vs 5.91), and exhibits excellent selectivity for Cu(II) over Zn(II) in aqueous media. Solid and solution studies corroborate the formation of a stable [Cu(II)L]⁺ monocationic species at physiological pH values (7.4). Its action as an antioxidant was tested in ascorbate, tau, and human prion protein assays, which reveal that Salpyran prevents the formation of reactive oxygen species from the binary Cu(II)/H₂O₂ system, demonstrating its potential use as a therapeutic small molecule metal chelator.

Current Strategies for Modulating Aβ Aggregation with Multifunctional Agents

Alzheimer's disease (AD), as the primary cause of dementia, has seriously affected millions of people worldwide and brought a very heavy financial and social burden. With the growth of population and aging, the situation will worsen unless efficacious drugs are found to reverse, stop, or even slow down disease progression. More and more evidence has demonstrated that amyloid-β (Aβ) aggregation is an upstream causative factor in AD pathogenesis and then triggers a slew of pathological events. Furthermore, the concentrated redox metal ions in the AD brain, especially Cu(II), can significantly exacerbate Aβ aggregation and contribute to the formation of neurotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS). Therefore, the inhibition of Aβ aggregation and relief of amyloidosis-initiated neurotoxicity play a critical role in AD treatment. Until now, several methods have been proposed to modulate Aβ aggregation, such as developing aggregation inhibitors to interfere with Aβ assembly via noncovalent interactions, copper chelators to cut off metal-accelerated Aβ aggregation and concomitant cytotoxicity, photooxidation to reduce the hydrophobicity and aggregation tendency of Aβ, thermal dissociation to disrupt amyloid aggregates susceptible to temperature, degradation with artificial protease to fracture the Aβ peptide into small fragments, and the clearance of peripheral Aβ to bypass the obstruction of the BBB and reduce the Aβ burden.In this Account, we focus on our contributions to the development of Aβ-targeted multifunctional molecules and nanoparticles, emphasizing the diversified strategies and synergistic therapeutic effects. These therapeutic agents possess the following multifunctionalities: (1) compared with frequently used aggregation inhibitors restricted by intrinsically feeble and sensitive noncovalent interactions, multifunctional agents can efficiently block Aβ aggregation by exploiting two or more Aβ-specific inhibition strategies simultaneously; (2) apart from regulating Aβ aggregation, multipronged agents can also target and modulate other pathological factors in AD pathogenesis, such as increased oxidative stress, abnormal copper accumulation, and irreversible neuron loss; (3) multifunctional platforms with both diagnostic and therapeutic modalities through integrating in situ imaging, real-time diagnostics, a multitarget direction, stimuli-responsive drug release, and the blood-brain barrier (BBB) translocation features are instrumental in improving drug levels at trouble sites, diminishing off-target adverse reactions, evaluating therapeutic effects, and averting overtreatment.Given the fact that amyloid aggregation, local inflammation, and metal dyshomeostasis are universal biomarkers shared by various neurodegenerative disorders, this Account provides a perspective for the evolution of customized therapeutic agents with multiple reactivities for other neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, recent studies have indicated that Aβ aggregates can enter the nucleus and induce DNA damage and anomalous conformational transition. We also explore the influences of DNA on the biological effects of Aβ aggregates.

TDMQ20, a Specific Copper Chelator, Reduces Memory Impairments in Alzheimer's Disease Mouse Models

Besides targeting amyloid or tau metabolisms, regulation of redox metal ions is a recognized therapeutic target for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Based on the bioinorganic chemistry of copper, we designed specific chelators of copper(II) (TDMQs) insight to regulate copper homeostasis in the brain and to inhibit the deleterious oxidative stress catalyzed by copper-amyloid complexes. An oral treatment by TDMQ20 was able to fully reverse the cognitive and behavioral impairment in three different murine models, two nontransgenic models mimicking the early stage of AD and a transgenic model representing a more advanced stage of AD. To our knowledge, such a comparative study using the same molecule has never been performed. Regular C57BL/6 mice received a single injection of human Cu-Aβ_1-42 in the lateral ventricles (icv-CuAβ) or in the hippocampus (hippo-CuAβ). In both cases, mice developed a cognitive impairment similar to that of transgenic 5XFAD mice. Oral administration of TDMQ20 to icv-CuAβ or hippo-CuAβ mice within a 16-day period resulted in a significant improvement of the cognitive status. The 3-month treatment of transgenic 5XFAD mice with TDMQ20 also resulted in behavioral improvements. The consistent positive pharmacological results obtained using these different AD models correlate well with previously obtained physicochemical data of TDMQ20. The short-term novel object recognition (NOR) test was found particularly relevant to evaluate the rescue of declarative memory impairment. TDMQ20 was also able to reduce the oxidative stress in the mouse cortex. Due to its reliability and facile use, the hippo-CuAβ model can be considered as a robust nontransgenic model to evaluate the activity of potential drugs on the early stages of memory deficits.