Chain-branched polyhydroxylated Octahydro-1H-Indoles as potential leads against lysosomal storage diseases

Here, the synthesis and glycosidase inhibition properties of the two first known 3-ethyloctahydro-1H-indole-4,5,6-triols are reported. This study shows the transformation of d-glucose into polyhydroxylated 1-(2-nitrocyclohexane) acetaldehydes, followed by a protocol involving the formation of the azacyclopentane ring. Results of inhibitory potency assays and docking calculations show that at least one of them could be a lead for optimization in the search for compounds that behave like folding chaperones in lysosomal storage diseasesThis work has received financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (CTQ2009-08490), the Xunta de Galicia (Centro Singular de Investigación de Galicia, accreditation 2016–2019, ED431B 2018/13; Project CN2011/037 and Project GRC2014/040), and the European Union (European Regional Development Fund-ERDF). It has also received a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) from the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP17K08362) (AK)S

Computer-Aided Structure-Based Design of Multitarget Leads for Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative pathology with unmet clinical needs. A highly desirable approach to this syndrome would be to find a single lead that could bind to some or all of the selected biomolecules that participate in the amyloid cascade, the most accepted route for Alzheimer disease genesis. In order to circumvent the challenge posed by the sizable differences in the binding sites of the molecular targets, we propose a computer-assisted protocol based on a pharmacophore and a set of required interactions with the targets that allows for the automated screening of candidates. We used a combination of docking and molecular dynamics protocols in order to discard nonbinders, optimize the best candidates, and provide a rationale for their potential as inhibitors. To provide a proof of concept, we proceeded to screen the literature and databases, a task that allowed us to identify a set of carbazole-containing compounds that initially showed affinity only for the cholinergic targets in our experimental assays. Two cycles of design based on our protocol led to a new set of analogues that were synthesized and assayed. The assay results revealed that the designed inhibitors had improved affinities for BACE-1 by more than 3 orders of magnitude and also displayed amyloid aggregation inhibition and affinity for AChE and BuChE, a result that led us to a group of multitarget amyloid cascade inhibitors that also could have a positive effect at the cholinergic levelFinancial support from the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of Spain (Project CTQ2011-22436) and the Xunta de Galicia (CN2011/047 and 10CSA209063PR) is gratefully acknowledgedS

8‐Aminomethyl‐7‐hydroxy‐4‐methylcoumarins as Multitarget Leads for Alzheimer's Disease

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Domínguez, J., Fernández-Nieto, F., Brea, J., Catto, M., Paleo, M., & Porto, S. et al. (2016). 8-Aminomethyl-7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarins as Multitarget Leads for Alzheimer's Disease. Chemistryselect, 1(11), 2742-2749, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/slct.201600735. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived VersionsThis work is part of our ongoing research in the discovery of multitarget therapeutic agents for Alzheimer's disease (AD). A literature screening, based on our recently proposed pharmacophore, led to the identification of 8‐aminomethyl‐7‐hydroxy‐4‐methyl coumarins as potential multitarget leads for AD. The results of a computer‐assisted protocol developed by us to validate multitarget hits for AD indicated that our coumarin candidates were viable leads only for AChE inhibition as later validated by biological assays. The results of BChE binding and propidium displacement assays indicate that our first generation compounds bind to the PAS site in AChE. We designed new generations of coumarin derivatives with a longer substituent at position 8 aimed at leads with more efficient interaction at the catalytic anionic site (CAS). Inhibition data and docking simulations indicated that an anilino‐capping group reached the CAS region of AChE and determined also a higher inhibitory potency towards BChE. The best compound obtained, with a N‐benzylpiperidine fragment, displayed sub‐micromolar affinity for AChE, affinity for BChE, and precluded Aβ‐amyloid aggregation with a potency similar to that of 9,10‐anthraquinone, making it a multitarget lead viable for further improvementFinancial support from the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of Spain (Project CTQ2014‐55208‐P) and the Xunta de Galicia (10CSA209063PR and GRC2014/029) is gratefully acknowledged. The Italian authors thank the University of Bari for partial financial support (Fondi di Ateneo 2014–2015)S