Tissue-type plasminogen activator binds to Aβ and AIAPP amyloid fibrils with multiple domains

Computational Fragment-Based Design of Phytochemical Derivatives as EGFR Inhibitors

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a potential target with disease modifying benefits against Alzheimer's disease (AD). Repurposing of FDA approved drugs against EGFR have shown beneficial effect against AD but are confined to quinazoline, quinoline and aminopyrimidines. Futuristically, the possibility of acquiring drug resistance mutation as seen in the case of cancer could also hamper AD treatment. To identify novel chemical scaffolds, we rooted on phytochemicals identified from plants such as Acorus calamus, Bacopa monnieri, Convolvulus pluricaulis, Tinospora cordifloia, and Withania somnifera that have well-established records in the treatment of brain disorders. The rationale was to mimic the biosynthetic metabolite extension process observed in the plants for synthesizing new phytochemical derivates. Thus, novel compounds were designed computationally by fragment-based method followed by extensive in silico analysis to pick potential phytochemical derivates. PCD1, 8 and 10 were predicted to have better blood brain barrier permeability. ADMET and SoM analysis suggested that these PCDs exhibited druglike properties. Further simulation studies showed that PCD1 and PCD8 stably interact with EGFR and have the potential to be used even in cases of drug-resistance mutations. With further experimental evidence, these PCDs could be leveraged as potential inhibitors of EGFR.

Amorphous protein aggregates stimulate plasminogen activation, leading to release of cytotoxic fragments that are clients for extracellular chaperones

The misfolding of proteins and their accumulation in extracellular tissue compartments as insoluble amyloid or amorphous protein aggregates are a hallmark feature of many debilitating protein deposition diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, prion diseases, and type II diabetes. The plasminogen activation system is best known as an extracellular fibrinolytic system but was previously reported to also be capable of degrading amyloid fibrils. Here we show that amorphous protein aggregates interact with tissue-type plasminogen activator and plasminogen, via an exposed lysine-dependent mechanism, to efficiently generate plasmin. The insoluble aggregate-bound plasmin is shielded from inhibition by α₂-antiplasmin and degrades amorphous protein aggregates to release smaller, soluble but relatively hydrophobic fragments of protein (plasmin-generated protein fragments (PGPFs)) that are cytotoxic. In vitro, both endothelial and microglial cells bound and internalized PGPFs before trafficking them to lysosomes. Clusterin and α₂-macroglobulin bound to PGPFs to significantly ameliorate their toxicity. On the basis of these findings, we hypothesize that, as part of the in vivo extracellular proteostasis system, the plasminogen activation system may work synergistically with extracellular chaperones to safely clear large and otherwise pathological protein aggregates from the body.

Impacts of aging and amyloid-β deposition on plasminogen activators and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 in the Tg2576 mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

Plasminogen activators (PAs), which convert plasminogen into the fibrinolytic protease plasmin, may initiate the degradation of amyloid-β (Aβ) to suppress the amyloid pathogenesis. In that way, tissue plasminogen activator (tPA)-mediated plasmin activation could maintain a low level of Aβ deposition to delay the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In a previous study, we reported that tPA/plasmin proteolytic activity is attenuated throughout the brain during aging or with Aβ accumulation but clustered intense around the amyloid plaques in AD brain. The present study demonstrates that the altered proteolytic activity primarily results from the competition between the expressions of tPA and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) in the brains of Tg2576 Aβ-transgenic mice, as revealed by immunohistochemistry and immunoblot assays. Compared with that in the brains of younger Tg2576 mice, tPA protein is generally reduced throughout the brain in older Tg2576 mice but elevated near amyloid plaques. In contrary, PAI-1 expression increases during aging or Aβ deposition with its clusters surrounding amyloid plaques. No significant alteration in the expression of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) is detected. These results suggest reciprocal feedback influences between tPA, PAI-1 and Aβ during aging and amyloid pathogenesis in AD brain; tPA-mediated plasmin activity is declined throughout the brain causing Aβ deposition during aging, and the Aβ deposits locally attract the cluster of tPA and/or PAI-1 around their deposits to competitively determine tPA/plasmin-mediated Aβ proteolysis.

Angiogenic growth factors interactome and drug discovery: The contribution of surface plasmon resonance

Angiogenesis is implicated in several pathological conditions, including cancer, and in regenerative processes, including the formation of collateral blood vessels after stroke. Physiological angiogenesis is the outcome of a fine balance between the action of angiogenic growth factors (AGFs) and anti-angiogenic molecules, while pathological angiogenesis occurs when this balance is pushed toward AGFs. AGFs interact with multiple endothelial cell (EC) surface receptors inducing cell proliferation, migration and proteases upregulation. On the contrary, free or extracellular matrix-associated molecules inhibit angiogenesis by sequestering AGFs (thus hampering EC stimulation) or by interacting with specific EC receptors inducing apoptosis or decreasing responsiveness to AGFs. Thus, angiogenesis results from an intricate network of interactions among pro- and anti-angiogenic molecules, EC receptors and various modulators. All these interactions represent targets for the development of pro- or anti-angiogenic therapies. These aims call for suitable technologies to study the countless interactions occurring during neovascularization. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is a label-free optical technique to study biomolecular interactions in real time. It has become the golden standard technology for interaction analysis in biomedical research, including angiogenesis. From a survey of the literature it emerges that SPR has already contributed substantially to the better understanding of the neovascularization process, laying the basis for the decoding of the angiogenesis "interactome" and the identification of "hub molecules" that may represent preferential targets for an efficacious modulation of angiogenesis. Here, the still unexploited full potential of SPR is enlightened, pointing to improvements in its use for a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of neovascularization and the identification of novel anti-angiogenic drugs.