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Imtiaz A, Shimonaka S, Uddin MN, Elahi M, Ishiguro K, Hasegawa M, Hattori N, Motoi Y. Selection of lansoprazole from an FDA-approved drug library to inhibit the Alzheimer's disease seed-dependent formation of tau aggregates. Front Aging Neurosci 2024; 16:1368291. [PMID: 38633982 PMCID: PMC11022852 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2024.1368291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
The efficacy of current treatments is still insufficient for Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common cause of Dementia. Out of the two pathological hallmarks of AD amyloid-β plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, comprising of tau protein, tau pathology strongly correlates with the symptoms of AD. Previously, screening for inhibitors of tau aggregation that target recombinant tau aggregates have been attempted. Since a recent cryo-EM analysis revealed distinct differences in the folding patterns of heparin-induced recombinant tau filaments and AD tau filaments, this study focused on AD seed-dependent tau aggregation in drug repositioning for AD. We screened 763 compounds from an FDA-approved drug library using an AD seed-induced tau aggregation in SH-SY5Y cell-based assay. In the first screening, 180 compounds were selected, 72 of which were excluded based on the results of lactate dehydrogenase assay. In the third screening with evaluations of soluble and insoluble tau, 38 compounds were selected. In the fourth screening with 3 different AD seeds, 4 compounds, lansoprazole, calcipotriene, desogestrel, and pentamidine isethionate, were selected. After AD seed-induced real-time quaking-induced conversion, lansoprazole was selected as the most suitable drug for repositioning. The intranasal administration of lansoprazole for 4 months to AD seed-injected mice improved locomotor activity and reduced both the amount of insoluble tau and the extent of phosphorylated tau-positive areas. Alanine replacement of the predicted binding site to an AD filament indicated the involvement of Q351, H362, and K369 in lansoprazole and C-shaped tau filaments. These results suggest the potential of lansoprazole as a candidate for drug repositioning to an inhibitor of tau aggregate formation in AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed Imtiaz
- Department of Diagnosis, Prevention and Treatment of Dementia, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Neurology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shotaro Shimonaka
- Research Institute for Diseases of Old Age, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Mohammad Nasir Uddin
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Faculty of Life Science, Mawlana Bhashani Science & Technology University, Tangail, Bangladesh
| | - Montasir Elahi
- Center for Birth Defect Research, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Koichi Ishiguro
- Department of Neurology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masato Hasegawa
- Department of Brain and Neuroscience, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Nobutaka Hattori
- Department of Neurology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yumiko Motoi
- Medical Center for Dementia, Juntendo University Hospital, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
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Duangjan C, Chang X, Seidler PM, Curran SP. Oolonghomobisflavans from Camellia sinensis disaggregate tau fibrils across Alzheimer's disease models. bioRxiv 2024:2024.02.26.582120. [PMID: 38464186 PMCID: PMC10925199 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.26.582120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common debilitating neurodegenerative disease with limited treatment options. Amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau fibrils are well-established hallmarks of AD, which can induce oxidative stress, neuronal cell death, and are linked to disease pathology. Here, we describe the effects of Oolonghomobisflavan A (OFA) and Oolonghomobisflavan B (OFB) on tau fibril disaggregation and prionogenic seeding. Transcriptomic analysis of OF-treated animals reveals the induction of a proteostasis-enhancing and health-promoting signature. OFA treatment reduced the burden of Tau protein aggregation in a C. elegans model expressing pathogenic human tau ("hTau-expressing") and promoted Tau disaggregation and inhibited seeding in assays using ex vivo brain-derived paired helical filament tau protein fibrils from Alzheimer's disease brain donors. Correspondingly, treatment with OF improved multiple fitness and aging-related health parameters in the hTau-expressing C. elegans model, including reproductive output, muscle function, and importantly, reversed the shortened lifespan stemming from pathogenic Tau expression. Collectively, this study provides new evidence supporting the neuroprotective effects of OFs and reveal a new therapeutic strategy for targeting AD and other neurodegenerative diseases characterized by tauopathy.
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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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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Gibbons GS, Gould H, Lee VMY, Crowe A, Brunden KR. Identification of small molecules and related targets that modulate tau pathology in a seeded primary neuron model. J Biol Chem 2023; 299:104876. [PMID: 37269953 PMCID: PMC10331484 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.104876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Revised: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the presence of tau protein inclusions and amyloid beta (Aβ) plaques in the brain, with Aβ peptides generated by cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) by BACE1 and γ-secretase. We previously described a primary rat neuron assay in which tau inclusions form from endogenous rat tau after seeding cells with insoluble tau isolated from the human AD brain. Here, we used this assay to screen an annotated library of ∼8700 biologically active small molecules for their ability to reduce immuno-stained neuronal tau inclusions. Compounds causing ≥30% inhibition of tau aggregates with <25% loss of DAPI-positive cell nuclei underwent further confirmation testing and assessment of neurotoxicity, and non-neurotoxic hits were subsequently analyzed for inhibitory activity in an orthogonal ELISA that quantified multimeric rat tau species. Of the 173 compounds meeting all criteria, a subset of 55 inhibitors underwent concentration-response testing and 46 elicited a concentration-dependent reduction of neuronal tau inclusions that were distinct from measures of toxicity. Among the confirmed inhibitors of tau pathology were BACE1 inhibitors, several of which, along with γ-secretase inhibitors/modulators, caused a concentration-dependent lowering of neuronal tau inclusions and a reduction of insoluble tau by immunoblotting, although they did not decrease soluble phosphorylated tau species. In conclusion, we have identified a diverse set of small molecules and related targets that reduce neuronal tau inclusions. Notably, these include BACE1 and γ-secretase inhibitors, suggesting that a cleavage product from a shared substrate, such as APP, might affect tau pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Garrett S Gibbons
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Hailey Gould
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Virginia M-Y Lee
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Alex Crowe
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Kurt R Brunden
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
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Sala-jarque J, Zimkowska K, Ávila J, Ferrer I, del Río JA. Towards a Mechanistic Model of Tau-Mediated Pathology in Tauopathies: What Can We Learn from Cell-Based In Vitro Assays? Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:11527. [PMID: 36232835 PMCID: PMC9570106 DOI: 10.3390/ijms231911527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2022] [Revised: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 09/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Tauopathies are a group of neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the hyperphosphorylation and deposition of tau proteins in the brain. In Alzheimer’s disease, and other related tauopathies, the pattern of tau deposition follows a stereotypical progression between anatomically connected brain regions. Increasing evidence suggests that tau behaves in a “prion-like” manner, and that seeding and spreading of pathological tau drive progressive neurodegeneration. Although several advances have been made in recent years, the exact cellular and molecular mechanisms involved remain largely unknown. Since there are no effective therapies for any tauopathy, there is a growing need for reliable experimental models that would provide us with better knowledge and understanding of their etiology and identify novel molecular targets. In this review, we will summarize the development of cellular models for modeling tau pathology. We will discuss their different applications and contributions to our current understanding of the “prion-like” nature of pathological tau.
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Natale C, Barzago MM, Colnaghi L, De Luigi A, Orsini F, Fioriti L, Diomede L. A Combined Cell-Worm Approach to Search for Compounds Counteracting the Toxicity of Tau Oligomers In Vivo. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:11277. [PMID: 36232578 PMCID: PMC9569484 DOI: 10.3390/ijms231911277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2022] [Revised: 09/21/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
A clear relationship between the tau assemblies and toxicity has still to be established. To correlate the tau conformation with its proteotoxic effect in vivo, we developed an innovative cell-worm-based approach. HEK293 cells expressing tau P301L under a tetracycline-inducible system (HEK T-Rex) were employed to produce different tau assemblies whose proteotoxic potential was evaluated using C. elegans. Lysates from cells induced for five days significantly reduced the worm's locomotor activity. This toxic effect was not related to the total amount of tau produced by cells or to its phosphorylation state but was related to the formation of multimeric tau assemblies, particularly tetrameric ones. We investigated the applicability of this approach for testing compounds acting against oligomeric tau toxicity, using doxycycline (Doxy) as a prototype drug. Doxy affected tau solubility and promoted the disassembly of already formed toxic aggregates in lysates of cells induced for five days. These effects translated into a dose-dependent protective action in C. elegans. These findings confirm the validity of the combined HEK T-Rex cells and the C. elegans-based approach as a platform for pharmacological screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmina Natale
- Department of Molecular Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Istituto Di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Via Mario Negri 2, 20156 Milan, Italy
| | - Maria Monica Barzago
- Department of Molecular Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Istituto Di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Via Mario Negri 2, 20156 Milan, Italy
| | - Luca Colnaghi
- Department of Molecular Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Istituto Di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Via Mario Negri 2, 20156 Milan, Italy
| | - Ada De Luigi
- Department of Molecular Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Istituto Di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Via Mario Negri 2, 20156 Milan, Italy
| | - Franca Orsini
- Dulbecco Telethon Institute and Department of Neuroscience, Istituto Di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Via Mario Negri 2, 20156 Milan, Italy
| | - Luana Fioriti
- Dulbecco Telethon Institute and Department of Neuroscience, Istituto Di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Via Mario Negri 2, 20156 Milan, Italy
| | - Luisa Diomede
- Department of Molecular Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Istituto Di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Via Mario Negri 2, 20156 Milan, Italy
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Wang C, Zheng C. Using Caenorhabditis elegans to Model Therapeutic Interventions of Neurodegenerative Diseases Targeting Microbe-Host Interactions. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:875349. [PMID: 35571084 PMCID: PMC9096141 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.875349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Emerging evidence from both clinical studies and animal models indicates the importance of the interaction between the gut microbiome and the brain in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases (NDs). Although how microbes modulate neurodegeneration is still mostly unclear, recent studies have started to probe into the mechanisms for the communication between microbes and hosts in NDs. In this review, we highlight the advantages of using Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) to disentangle the microbe-host interaction that regulates neurodegeneration. We summarize the microbial pro- and anti-neurodegenerative factors identified using the C. elegans ND models and the effects of many are confirmed in mouse models. Specifically, we focused on the role of bacterial amyloid proteins, such as curli, in promoting proteotoxicity and neurodegeneration by cross-seeding the aggregation of endogenous ND-related proteins, such as α-synuclein. Targeting bacterial amyloid production may serve as a novel therapeutic strategy for treating NDs, and several compounds, such as epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), were shown to suppress neurodegeneration at least partly by inhibiting curli production. Because bacterial amyloid fibrils contribute to biofilm formation, inhibition of amyloid production often leads to the disruption of biofilms. Interestingly, from a list of 59 compounds that showed neuroprotective effects in C. elegans and mouse ND models, we found that about half of them are known to inhibit bacterial growth or biofilm formation, suggesting a strong correlation between the neuroprotective and antibiofilm activities. Whether these potential therapeutics indeed protect neurons from proteotoxicity by inhibiting the cross-seeding between bacterial and human amyloid proteins awaits further investigations. Finally, we propose to screen the long list of antibiofilm agents, both FDA-approved drugs and novel compounds, for their neuroprotective effects and develop new pharmaceuticals that target the gut microbiome for the treatment of NDs. To this end, the C. elegans ND models can serve as a platform for fast, high-throughput, and low-cost drug screens that target the microbe-host interaction in NDs.
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Ficulle E, Kananathan S, Airey D, Gharbi SI, Humphryes-Kirilov N, Scherschel J, Dunbar C, Eastwood BJ, Laing E, Collier DA, Bose S. A human tau seeded neuronal cell model recapitulates molecular responses associated with Alzheimer's disease. Sci Rep 2022; 12:2673. [PMID: 35177665 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-06411-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Cellular models recapitulating features of tauopathies are useful tools to investigate the causes and consequences of tau aggregation and the identification of novel treatments. We seeded rat primary cortical neurons with tau isolated from Alzheimer’s disease brains to induce a time-dependent increase in endogenous tau inclusions. Transcriptomics of seeded and control cells identified 1075 differentially expressed genes (including 26 altered at two time points). These were enriched for lipid/steroid metabolism and neuronal/glial cell development genes. 50 genes were correlated with tau inclusion formation at both transcriptomic and proteomic levels, including several microtubule and cytoskeleton-related proteins such as Tubb2a, Tubb4a, Nefl and Snca. Several genes (such as Fyn kinase and PTBP1, a tau exon 10 repressor) interact directly with or regulate tau. We conclude that this neuronal model may be a suitable platform for high-throughput screens for target or hit compound identification and validation.
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LaBarbera KM, Limegrover C, Rehak C, Yurko R, Izzo NJ, Knezovich N, Watto E, Waybright L, Catalano SM. Modeling the mature CNS: A predictive screening platform for neurodegenerative disease drug discovery. J Neurosci Methods 2021; 358:109180. [PMID: 33836174 PMCID: PMC8217273 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2021.109180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Revised: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Background: Mature primary neuronal cultures are an important model of the nervous system, but limited scalability has been a major challenge in their use for drug discovery of neurodegenerative diseases. This work describes a method for improving scalability through the use of larger format microtiter plates while preserving culture quality. New Method: Here we describe a method and quality control procedures for growing embryonic day 18 rat hippocampal/cortical neuronal cultures in 384-well microtiter plates for three weeks in vitro. Results: We use these cultures in two assays measuring intracellular lipid vesicle trafficking and synapse density for routine screening of small molecule libraries. Together this culture system and screening platform have successfully identified therapeutics capable of improving cognitive function in transgenic models of Alzheimer’s disease that have advanced to clinical trials, validating their translational applicability. Comparison with Existing Methods: Our method enables the growth of healthy, mature neurons in larger format microtiter plates than in traditional primary neuronal culturing protocols, making it ideal for drug screening and mechanism of action studies. Conclusion: The predictive capacity of this culture system and screening platform provides a method for rapidly identifying novel disease-modifying neurodegenerative therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Courtney Rehak
- Cognition Therapeutics Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, 15203, United States
| | - Raymond Yurko
- Cognition Therapeutics Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, 15203, United States
| | | | - Nicole Knezovich
- Cognition Therapeutics Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, 15203, United States
| | - Emily Watto
- Cognition Therapeutics Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, 15203, United States
| | - Lora Waybright
- Cognition Therapeutics Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, 15203, United States
| | - Susan M Catalano
- Cognition Therapeutics Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, 15203, United States.
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Sopko R, Golonzhka O, Arndt J, Quan C, Czerkowicz J, Cameron A, Smith B, Murugesan Y, Gibbons G, Kim S, Trojanowski JQ, Lee VM, Brunden KR, Graham DL, Weinreb PH, Hering H. Characterization of tau binding by gosuranemab. Neurobiol Dis 2020; 146:105120. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2020.105120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Revised: 09/11/2020] [Accepted: 09/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
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