The Proof-of-Concept of MBA121, a Tacrine–Ferulic Acid Hybrid, for Alzheimer’s Disease Therapy

oleh: Emelina R. Rodríguez-Ruiz, Raquel Herrero-Labrador, Ana P. Fernández-Fernández, Julia Serrano-Masa, José A. Martínez-Montero, Daniel González-Nieto, Mayuri Hana-Vaish, Mohamed Benchekroun, Lhassane Ismaili, José Marco-Contelles, Ricardo Martínez-Murillo

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-07-01

Deskripsi

Great effort has been devoted to the synthesis of novel multi-target directed tacrine derivatives in the search of new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Herein we describe the proof of concept of MBA121, a compound designed as a tacrine–ferulic acid hybrid, and its potential use in the therapy of AD. MBA121 shows good <i>β</i>-amyloid (A<i>β</i>) anti-aggregation properties, selective inhibition of human butyrylcholinesterase, good neuroprotection against toxic insults, such as A<i>β</i><sub>1–40</sub>, A<i>β</i><sub>1–42</sub>, and H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>, and promising ADMET properties that support translational developments. A passive avoidance task in mice with experimentally induced amnesia was carried out, MBA121 being able to significantly decrease scopolamine-induced learning deficits. In addition, MBA121 reduced the A<i>β</i> plaque burden in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus in APP<sub>swe</sub>/PS1<sub>ΔE9</sub> transgenic male mice. Our in vivo results relate its bioavailability with the therapeutic response, demonstrating that MBA121 is a promising agent to treat the cognitive decline and neurodegeneration underlying AD.