BACE1-cleavage of Sez6 and Sez6L is elevated in Niemann-Pick type C disease mouse brains

It is intriguing that a rare, inherited lysosomal storage disorder Niemann-Pick type C (NPC) shares similarities with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We have previously reported an enhanced processing of β-amyloid precursor protein (APP) by β-secretase (BACE1), a key enzyme in the pathogenesis of AD, in NPC1-null cells. In this work, we characterized regional and temporal expression and processing of the recently identified BACE1 substrates seizure protein 6 (Sez6) and seizure 6-like protein (Sez6L), and APP, in NPC1-/- (NPC1) and NPC1+/+ (wt) mouse brains. We analysed 4-weeks old brains to detect the earliest changes associated with NPC, and 10-weeks of age to identify changes at terminal disease stage. Sez6 and Sez6L were selected due to their predominant cleavage by BACE1, and their potential role in synaptic function that may contribute to presentation of seizures and/or motor impairments in NPC patients. While an enhanced BACE1-cleavage of all three substrates was detected in NPC1 vs. wt-mouse brains at 4- weeks of age, at 10-weeks increased proteolysis by BACE1 was observed for Sez6L in the cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum of NPC1-mice. Interestingly, both APP and Sez6L were found to be expressed in Purkinje neurons and their immunostaining was lost upon Purkinje cell neurodegeneration in 10-weeks old NPC1 mice. Furthermore, in NPC1- vs. wt-mouse primary cortical neurons, both Sez6 and Sez6L showed increased punctuate staining within the endolysosomal pathway as well as increased Sez6L and BACE1-positive puncta. This indicates that a trafficking defect within the endolysosomal pathway may play a key role in enhanced BACE1-proteolysis in NPC disease. Overall, our findings suggest that enhanced proteolysis by BACE1 could be a part of NPC disease pathogenesis. Understanding the basic biology of BACE1 and the functional impact of cleavage of its substrates is important to better evaluate the therapeutic potential of BACE1 against AD and, possibly, NPC disease

Synthesis and Preliminary Evaluation of a 2-Oxoquinoline Carboxylic Acid Derivative for PET Imaging the Cannabinoid Type 2 Receptor

Cannabinoid receptor subtype 2 (CB2) has been shown to be up-regulated in activated microglia and therefore plays an important role in neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease. The CB2 receptor is therefore considered as a very promising target for therapeutic approaches as well as for imaging. A promising 2-oxoquinoline derivative designated KP23 was synthesized and radiolabeled and its potential as a ligand for PET imaging the CB2 receptor was evaluated. [11C]KP23 was obtained in 10%–25% radiochemical yield (decay corrected) and 99% radiochemical purity. It showed high stability in phosphate buffer, rat and mouse plasma. In vitro autoradiography of rat and mouse spleen slices, as spleen expresses a high physiological expression of CB2 receptors, demonstrated that [11C]KP23 exhibits specific binding towards CB2. High spleen uptake of [11C]KP23 was observed in dynamic in vivo PET studies with Wistar rats. In conclusion, [11C]KP23 showed promising in vitro and in vivo characteristics. Further evaluation with diseased animal model which has higher CB2 expression levels in the brain is warranted

Development and Evaluation of Novel PET Tracers for Imaging Cannabinoid Receptor Type 2 in Brain

The cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2) has a very low expression level in brain tissue under basal conditions, but it is up-regulated in diverse pathological conditions. Two promising lead structures from the literature, N-((3S,5S,7S)-adamantan-1-yl)-8-methoxy-4-oxo-1-pentyl-1,4-dihydroquinoline-3-carboxamide and 8-butoxy-N-(2-fluoro-2-phenylethyl)-7-methoxy-2-oxo-1,2-dihydroquinoline-3-carboxamide – designated KD2 and KP23, respectively – were evaluated as potential PET ligands for imaging CB2. Both KD2 and KP23 were synthesized and labeled with carbon-11. In vitro autoradiographic studies on rodent spleen tissues showed that [11C]KD2 exhibits superior properties. A pilot study using [11C]KD2 on human post mortem ALS spinal cord slices indicated high CB2 expression level and specific binding, a very exciting finding if considering the future diagnostic application of CB2 ligands and their utility in therapy monitoring. In vivo blocking studies in rats with [11C]KD2 showed also high specific uptake in spleen tissue. Although the protein-bound fraction is relatively high, KD2 or KD2 derivatives could be very useful tools for the non-invasive investigation of CB2 levels under various neuroinflammatory conditions

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of a New Acyclic Pyrimidine Derivative as a Probe for Imaging Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Thymidine Kinase Gene Expression

With the idea of finding a more selective radiotracer for imaging herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase (HSV1-tk) gene expression by means of positron emission tomography (PET), a novel [18F]fluorine radiolabeled pyrimidine with 4-hydroxy-3-(hydroxymethyl)butyl side chain at N-1 (HHB-5-[18F]FEP) was prepared and evaluated as a potential PET probe. Unlabeled reference compound, HHB-5-FEP, was synthesized via a five-step reaction sequence starting from 5-(2-acetoxyethyl)-4-methoxypyrimidin-2-one. The radiosynthesis of HHB-[18F]-FEP was accomplished by nucleophilic radiofluorination of a tosylate precursor using [18F]fluoride-cryptate complex in 45% ± 4 (n = 4) radiochemical yields and high purity (>99%). The biological evaluation indicated the feasibility of using HHB-5-[18F]FEP as a PET radiotracer for monitoring HSV1-tk expression in vivo