Merging memantine and ferulic acid to probe connections between NMDA receptors, oxidative stress and amyloid-β peptide in Alzheimer's disease

Rosini, Michela; Simoni, Elena; Caporaso, Roberta; Basagni, Filippo; Catanzaro, Michele; Abu, Izuddin F.; Fagiani, Francesca; Fusco, Federica; Masuzzo, Sara; Albani, Diego; Lanni, Cristina; Mellor, Ian R.; Minarini, Anna

Abstract

N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDAR) are critically involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Acting as an open-channel blocker, the anti-AD drug memantine preferentially targets NMDAR overactivation, which has been proposed to trigger neurotoxic events mediated by amyloid β peptide (Aβ) and oxidative stress. In this study, we applied a multifunctional approach by conjugating memantine to ferulic acid, which is known to protect the brain from Aβ neurotoxicity and neuronal death caused by ROS. The most interesting compound (7) behaved, like memantine, as a voltage-dependent antagonist of NMDAR (IC50 = 6.9 μM). In addition, at 10 μM concentration, 7 exerted antioxidant properties both directly and indirectly through the activation of the Nrf-2 pathway in SH-SY5Y cells. At the same concentration, differently from the parent compounds memantine and ferulic acid alone, it was able to modulate Aβ production, as revealed by the observed increase of the non-amyloidogenic sAPPα in H4-SW cells. These findings suggest that compound 7 may represent a promising tool for investigating NMDAR-mediated neurotoxic events involving Aβ burden and oxidative damage.

Citation

Rosini, M., Simoni, E., Caporaso, R., Basagni, F., Catanzaro, M., Abu, I. F., Fagiani, F., Fusco, F., Masuzzo, S., Albani, D., Lanni, C., Mellor, I. R., & Minarini, A. (2019). Merging memantine and ferulic acid to probe connections between NMDA receptors, oxidative stress and amyloid-β peptide in Alzheimer's disease. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 180, 111-120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2019.07.011

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 3, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Jul 5, 2019
• Publication Date: Oct 15, 2019
• Deposit Date: Sep 4, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 6, 2020
• Journal: European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry
• Print ISSN: 0223-5234
• Electronic ISSN: 1768-3254
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 180
• Pages: 111-120
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2019.07.011
• Keywords: Organic Chemistry; Pharmacology; Drug Discovery; General Medicine
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2563325
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0223523419306324?via%3Dihub
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Merging memantine and ferulic acid to probe connections between NMDA receptors, oxidative stress and amyloid-β peptide in Alzheimer's disease; Journal Title: European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2019.07.011; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2019 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
• Contract Date: Sep 4, 2019