发现一种可改善阿尔茨海默病小鼠记忆力的小分子分泌型簇集蛋白增强剂。
Discovery of a small molecule secreted clusterin enhancer that improves memory in Alzheimer's disease mice.
作者信息
Cohn Whitaker, Campagna Jesus, Wi Dongwook, Lee Jessica T, Beniwal Sahiba, Elezi Gazmend, Zhu Chunni, Jagodzinska Barbara, Whitelegge Julian, Damoiseaux Robert, John Varghese
机构信息
The Drug Discovery Lab, Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer's Disease Research, Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, 710 Westwood Plaza, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA.
Pasarow Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, 760 Westwood Plaza, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA.
出版信息
NPJ Drug Discov. 2025;2(1):7. doi: 10.1038/s44386-025-00009-2. Epub 2025 May 2.
Despite substantial research and drug discovery efforts, Alzheimer's Disease (AD) remains the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, underscoring the urgent need for novel therapeutic targets. A mutation in the clusterin (CLU) gene that hinders expression of the cyto-protective secreted isoform of clusterin (sCLU) that affects the aggregation and clearance of two key proteins implicated in AD, Aβ and tau, is the third most significant genetic risk factor for late-onset AD. Here, we present findings from our drug discovery program to identify small molecules that enhance sCLU levels and assess their impact on AD pathology and cognition in a murine model of AD. A high-throughput screening campaign identified two classes of epigenetic modulators that increase sCLU levels with subsequent medicinal chemistry efforts leading to bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) inhibitor new chemical entities (NCEs) with enhanced potency, drug-like properties, and oral brain bioavailability. The lead candidate NCE, DDL-357, increased brain sCLU in the murine ApoE4TR-5XFAD model of AD in a subchronic study. In a follow-up chronic study in the murine 3xTg-AD model, DDL-357 reduced phospho-tau in brain and led to improvements in mouse performance and memory in the Barnes maze testing paradigm. Proteomic analysis of brain tissue from both AD models revealed changes in proteins involved in mitochondrial function and synaptic plasticity. These findings reveal the potential of sCLU enhancement as a target for therapeutic development in AD and support the continued development of the preclinical lead candidate.
尽管进行了大量研究和药物研发工作,但阿尔茨海默病(AD)仍是美国第六大死因,这凸显了对新型治疗靶点的迫切需求。簇集蛋白(CLU)基因的一种突变会阻碍具有细胞保护作用的分泌型簇集蛋白(sCLU)的表达,而sCLU会影响AD相关的两种关键蛋白——淀粉样前体蛋白(Aβ)和tau蛋白的聚集与清除,该突变是晚发性AD的第三大重要遗传风险因素。在此,我们展示了药物研发项目的研究结果,以确定能提高sCLU水平的小分子,并评估它们对AD小鼠模型的病理和认知的影响。一项高通量筛选活动识别出两类表观遗传调节剂,它们能提高sCLU水平,随后的药物化学研究产生了具有更高效力、类药性质和口服脑生物利用度的溴结构域和额外末端(BET)抑制剂新化学实体(NCE)。在一项亚慢性研究中,先导候选NCE DDL - 357提高了AD小鼠ApoE4TR - 5XFAD模型脑中的sCLU水平。在后续针对小鼠3xTg - AD模型的慢性研究中,DDL - 357降低了脑中的磷酸化tau蛋白水平,并在巴恩斯迷宫测试范式中改善了小鼠的行为表现和记忆。对这两种AD模型脑组织的蛋白质组分析揭示了参与线粒体功能和突触可塑性的蛋白质的变化。这些发现揭示了提高sCLU水平作为AD治疗开发靶点的潜力,并支持临床前先导候选药物的持续研发。