Zhou Xinhua, Huang Kaipeng, Wang Yuqiang, Zhang Zaijun, Liu Yingying, Hou Qinghua, Yang Xifei, Hoi Maggie Pui Man
Department of Neurology and Stroke Center, Jinan University College of Pharmacy, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University and Institute of New Drug Research, Guangzhou, China.
State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinse Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macau, China.
Front Pharmacol. 2023 Mar 6;14:1082602. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1082602. eCollection 2023.
The pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is multifactorial with characteristic extracellular accumulation of amyloid-beta (Aβ) and intraneuronal aggregation of hyperphosphorylated tau in the brain. Development of disease-modifying treatment for AD has been challenging. Recent studies suggest that deleterious alterations in neurovascular cells happens in parallel with Aβ accumulation, inducing tau pathology and necroptosis. Therefore, therapies targeting cellular Aβ and tau pathologies may provide a more effective strategy of disease intervention. Tetramethylpyrazine nitrone (TBN) is a nitrone derivative of tetramethylpyrazine, an active ingredient from (Chuanxiong). We previously showed that TBN is a potent scavenger of free radicals with multi-targeted neuroprotective effects in rat and monkey models of ischemic stroke. The present study aimed to investigate the anti-AD properties of TBN. We employed AD-related cellular model (N2a/APPswe) and transgenic mouse model (3×Tg-AD mouse) for mechanistic and behavioral studies. Our results showed that TBN markedly improved cognitive functions and reduced Aβ and hyperphosphorylated tau levels in mouse model. Further investigation of the underlying mechanisms revealed that TBN promoted non-amyloidogenic processing pathway of amyloid precursor protein (APP) in N2a/APPswe . Moreover, TBN preserved synapses from dendritic spine loss and upregulated synaptic protein expressions in 3×Tg-AD mice. Proteomic analysis of 3×Tg-AD mouse hippocampal and cortical tissues showed that TBN induced neuroprotective effects through modulating mitophagy, MAPK and mTOR pathways. In particular, TBN significantly upregulated PINK1, a key protein for mitochondrial homeostasis, implicating PINK1 as a potential therapeutic target for AD. In summary, TBN improved cognitive functions in AD-related mouse model, inhibited Aβ production and tau hyperphosphorylation, and rescued synaptic loss and neuronal damage. Multiple mechanisms underlie the anti-AD effects of TBN including the modulation of APP processing, mTOR signaling and PINK1-related mitophagy.
阿尔茨海默病(AD)的病理生理学是多因素的,其特征是大脑中淀粉样蛋白β(Aβ)在细胞外积聚以及过度磷酸化的tau蛋白在神经元内聚集。开发针对AD的疾病修饰治疗一直具有挑战性。最近的研究表明,神经血管细胞的有害改变与Aβ积累同时发生,诱导tau病理和坏死性凋亡。因此,针对细胞Aβ和tau病理的疗法可能提供一种更有效的疾病干预策略。川芎嗪硝酮(TBN)是川芎嗪的硝酮衍生物,川芎嗪是(川芎)的活性成分。我们之前表明,TBN是一种有效的自由基清除剂,在缺血性中风的大鼠和猴子模型中具有多靶点神经保护作用。本研究旨在研究TBN的抗AD特性。我们采用AD相关细胞模型(N2a/APPswe)和转基因小鼠模型(3×Tg-AD小鼠)进行机制和行为研究。我们的结果表明,TBN显著改善了小鼠模型的认知功能,并降低了Aβ和过度磷酸化tau蛋白水平。对潜在机制的进一步研究表明,TBN促进了N2a/APPswe中淀粉样前体蛋白(APP)的非淀粉样生成加工途径。此外,TBN保护3×Tg-AD小鼠的突触免受树突棘丢失的影响,并上调突触蛋白表达。对3×Tg-AD小鼠海马和皮质组织的蛋白质组学分析表明,TBN通过调节线粒体自噬、丝裂原活化蛋白激酶(MAPK)和雷帕霉素靶蛋白(mTOR)途径诱导神经保护作用。特别是,TBN显著上调了线粒体稳态的关键蛋白PINK1,这表明PINK1是AD的潜在治疗靶点。总之,TBN改善了AD相关小鼠模型的认知功能,抑制了Aβ产生和tau过度磷酸化,并挽救了突触丢失和神经元损伤。TBN的抗AD作用有多种机制,包括对APP加工、mTOR信号传导和PINK1相关线粒体自噬的调节。