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Recent structural studies show distinct morphologies for the fibrils of Aβ(1-42) and Aβ(1-40), which are believed not to co-fibrillize. We describe here a novel, structurally-uniform 1 : 1 mixed fibrillar species, which differs from both pure fibrils. It forms preferentially even when Aβ(1-42) : Aβ(1-40) peptides are mixed in a non-stoichiometric ratio.

The self-assembly of the 42-residue amyloid-β peptide, Aβ42, into fibrillar aggregates is associated with neuronal dysfunction and toxicity in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patient brains, suggesting that small molecules acting on this process might interfere with pathogenesis. Here, we present experimental evidence that the small molecule sclerotiorin (SCL), a natural product belonging to the group of azaphilones, potently delays both seeded and nonseeded Aβ42 polymerization in cell-free assays. Mechanistic biochemical studies revealed that the inhibitory effect of SCL on fibrillogenesis is caused by its ability to kinetically stabilize small Aβ42 oligomers. These structures exhibit low β-sheet content and do not possess seeding activity, indicating that SCL acts very early in the amyloid formation cascade before the assembly of seeding-competent, β-sheet-rich fibrillar aggregates. Investigations with NMR WaterLOGSY experiments confirmed the association of Aβ42 assemblies with SCL in solution. Furthermore, using ion mobility-mass spectrometry, we observed that SCL directly interacts with a small fraction of Aβ42 monomers in the gas phase. In comparison to typical amyloid fibrils, small SCL-stabilized Aβ42 assemblies are inefficiently taken up into mammalian cells and have low toxicity in cell-based assays. Overall, these mechanistic studies support a pathological role of stable, β-sheet-rich Aβ42 fibrils in AD, while structures with low β-sheet content may be less relevant.

Self-propagating amyloid-β (Aβ) aggregates or seeds possibly drive pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Small molecules targeting such structures might act therapeutically in vivo. Here, a fluorescence polarization assay was established that enables the detection of compound effects on both seeded and spontaneous Aβ42 aggregation. In a focused screen of anti-amyloid compounds, we identified Disperse Orange 1 (DO1) ([4-((4-nitrophenyl)diazenyl)-N-phenylaniline]), a small molecule that potently delays both seeded and non-seeded Aβ42 polymerization at substoichiometric concentrations. Mechanistic studies revealed that DO1 disrupts preformed fibrillar assemblies of synthetic Aβ42 peptides and decreases the seeding activity of Aβ aggregates from brain extracts of AD transgenic mice. DO1 also reduced the size and abundance of diffuse Aβ plaques and decreased neuroinflammation-related gene expression changes in brains of 5xFAD transgenic mice. Finally, improved nesting behavior was observed upon treatment with the compound. Together, our evidence supports targeting of self-propagating Aβ structures with small molecules as a valid therapeutic strategy.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by two neuropathological hallmarks: senile plaques, which are composed of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides, and neurofibrillary tangles, which are composed of hyperphosphorylated tau protein. Aβ peptides are derived from sequential proteolytic cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein (APP). In this study, we identified a so far unknown mode of regulation of APP protein synthesis involving the MID1 protein complex: MID1 binds to and regulates the translation of APP mRNA. The underlying mode of action of MID1 involves the mTOR pathway. Thus, inhibition of the MID1 complex reduces the APP protein level in cultures of primary neurons. Based on this, we used one compound that we discovered previously to interfere with the MID1 complex, metformin, for in vivo experiments. Indeed, long-term treatment with metformin decreased APP protein expression levels and consequently Aβ in an AD mouse model. Importantly, we have initiated the metformin treatment late in life, at a time-point where mice were in an already progressed state of the disease, and could observe an improved behavioral phenotype. These findings together with our previous observation, showing that inhibition of the MID1 complex by metformin also decreases tau phosphorylation, make the MID1 complex a particularly interesting drug target for treating AD.

Chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) is an MRI technique that allows mapping of biomolecules (small metabolites, proteins) with nearly the sensitivity of conventional water proton MRI. In living organisms, several tissue-specific CEST effects have been observed and successfully applied to diagnostic imaging. In these studies, particularly the signals of proteins showed a distinct correlation with pathological changes. However, as CEST effects depend on various properties that determine and affect the chemical exchange processes, the origins of the observed signal changes remain to be understood. In this study, protein aggregation was identified as an additional process that is encoded in the CEST signals of proteins. Investigation of distinct proteins that are involved in pathological disorders, namely amyloid beta and huntingtin, revealed a significant decrease of all protein CEST signals upon controlled aggregation. This finding is of particular interest with regard to diagnostic imaging of patients with neurodegenerative diseases that involve amyloidogenesis, such as Alzheimer's or Huntington's disease. To investigate whether the observed CEST signal decrease also occurs in heterogeneous mixtures of aggregated cellular proteins, and thus prospectively in tissue, heat-shocked yeast cell lysates were employed. Additionally, investigation of different cell compartments verified the assignment of the protein CEST signals to the soluble part of the proteome. The results of in vitro experiments demonstrate that aggregation affects the CEST signals of proteins. This observation can enable hypotheses for CEST imaging as a non-invasive diagnostic tool for monitoring pathological alterations of the proteome in vivo.

Several lines of evidence indicate that prefibrillar assemblies of amyloid-β (Aβ) polypeptides, such as soluble oligomers or protofibrils, rather than mature, end-stage amyloid fibrils cause neuronal dysfunction and memory impairment in Alzheimer's disease. These findings suggest that reducing the prevalence of transient intermediates by small molecule-mediated stimulation of amyloid polymerization might decrease toxicity. Here we demonstrate the acceleration of Aβ fibrillogenesis through the action of the orcein-related small molecule O4, which directly binds to hydrophobic amino acid residues in Aβ peptides and stabilizes the self-assembly of seeding-competent, β-sheet-rich protofibrils and fibrils. Notably, the O4-mediated acceleration of amyloid fibril formation efficiently decreases the concentration of small, toxic Aβ oligomers in complex, heterogeneous aggregation reactions. In addition, O4 treatment suppresses inhibition of long-term potentiation by Aβ oligomers in hippocampal brain slices. These results support the hypothesis that small, diffusible prefibrillar amyloid species rather than mature fibrillar aggregates are toxic for mammalian cells.

Assemblies of huntingtin (HTT) fragments with expanded polyglutamine (polyQ) tracts are a pathological hallmark of Huntington's disease (HD). The molecular mechanisms by which these structures are formed and cause neuronal dysfunction and toxicity are poorly understood. Here, we utilized available gene expression data sets of selected brain regions of HD patients and controls for systematic interaction network filtering in order to predict disease-relevant, brain region-specific HTT interaction partners. Starting from a large protein-protein interaction (PPI) data set, a step-by-step computational filtering strategy facilitated the generation of a focused PPI network that directly or indirectly connects 13 proteins potentially dysregulated in HD with the disease protein HTT. This network enabled the discovery of the neuron-specific protein CRMP1 that targets aggregation-prone, N-terminal HTT fragments and suppresses their spontaneous self-assembly into proteotoxic structures in various models of HD. Experimental validation indicates that our network filtering procedure provides a simple but powerful strategy to identify disease-relevant proteins that influence misfolding and aggregation of polyQ disease proteins. DFG [SFB740, 740/2-11, SFB618, 618/3-09, SFB/TRR43 A7]; BMBF(NGFN-Plus) [01GS08169-73, 01GS08150, 01GS08108]; HDSA Coalition for the Cure; EU (EuroSpin) [Health-F2-2009-241498, HEALTH-F2-2009-242167]; Helmholtz Association (MSBN, HelMA) [HA-215]; FCT [IF/00881/2013] info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Triplex-forming oligonucleotides (TFOs) containing 9-deazaguanine N7-(2′-deoxyribonucleoside) 1a and halogenated derivatives 1b,c were synthesized employing solid-phase oligonucleotide synthesis. For that purpose, the phosphoramidite building blocks 5a–c and 8a–c were synthesized. Multiple incorporations of 1a–c in place of dC were performed within TFOs, which involved the sequence of five consecutive 1a–c ⋅ dG ⋅ dC triplets as well as of three alternating 1a–c ⋅ dG ⋅ dC and dT ⋅ dA ⋅ dT triplets. These TFOs were designed to bind in a parallel orientation to the target duplex. Triplex forming properties of these oligonucleotides containing 1a–c in the presence of Na+ and Mg2+ were studied by UV/melting-curve analysis and confirmed by circular-dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. The oligonucleotides containing 1a in the place of dC formed stable triplexes at physiological pH in the case of sequence of five consecutive 1a ⋅ dG ⋅ dC triplets as well as three alternating 1a–c ⋅ dG ⋅ dC and dT ⋅ dA ⋅ dT triplets. The replacement of 1a by 9-halogenated derivatives 1b,c further enhanced the stability of DNA triplexes. Nucleosides 1a–c also stabilized duplex DNA.

The 1H-imidazoles 7a-e were synthesized and tested for biological activity in vitro. The results pointed to a clear structure-activity relationship. The introduction of an ethyl chain at C5 of the 1,2,4-tris(4-hydroxyphenyl)-1H-imidazole 7a caused hormonal activity in estrogen receptor positive MCF-7-2a cells. An o-chlorine substituent in the phenolic rings at C2 and C4 as realized in 7b and 7c increased the antiproliferative effects against human breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB 231. Additionally, both compounds showed strong inhibitory effects on cyclooxygenase enzymes. Therefore, a mode of action including the interference in the arachidonic acid cascade might be possible.

The syntheses of N7-glycosylated 9-deazaguanine 1a as well as of its 9-bromo and 9-iodo derivatives 1b,c are described. The regioselective 9-halogenation with N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) and N-iodosuccinimide (NIS) was accomplished at the protected nucleobase 4a (2-{[(dimethylamino)methylidene]amino}-3,5-dihydro-3-[(pivaloyloxy)methyl]-4H-pyrrolo[3,2-d]pyrimidin-4-one). Nucleobase-anion glycosylation of 4a–c with 2-deoxy-3,5-di-O-(p-toluoyl)-α-D-erythro-pentofuranosyl chloride (5) furnished the fully protected intermediates 6a–c (Scheme 2). They were deprotected with 0.01M NaOMe yielding the sugar-deprotected derivatives 8a–c (Scheme 3). At higher concentrations (0.1M NaOMe), also the pivaloyloxymethyl group was removed to give 7a–c, while conc. aq. NH3 solution furnished the nucleosides 1a–c. In D2O, the sugar conformation was always biased towards S (67–61%).

The 9-deazaguanine N7-2'-deoxyribofuranoside (3) as well as the bromo and iodo derivatives 4a,b were synthesized and incorporated in oligonucleotide duplexes and triplexes. Their base pairing properties were investigated and compared with those of the parent purine N7-2'-deoxyribofuanosides.

Chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) is an MRI technique that allows mapping of biomolecules (small metabolites, proteins) with nearly the sensitivity of conventional water proton MRI. In living organisms, several tissue-specific CEST effects have been observed and successfully applied to diagnostic imaging. In these studies, particularly the signals of proteins showed a distinct correlation with pathological changes. However, as CEST effects depend on various properties that determine and affect the chemical exchange processes, the origins of the observed signal changes remain to be understood. In this study, protein aggregation was identified as an additional process that is encoded in the CEST signals of proteins. Investigation of distinct proteins that are involved in pathological disorders, namely amyloid beta and huntingtin, revealed a significant decrease of all protein CEST signals upon controlled aggregation. This finding is of particular interest with regard to diagnostic imaging of patients with neurodegenerative diseases that involve amyloidogenesis, such as Alzheimer's or Huntington's disease. To investigate whether the observed CEST signal decrease also occurs in heterogeneous mixtures of aggregated cellular proteins, and thus prospectively in tissue, heat-shocked yeast cell lysates were employed. Additionally, investigation of different cell compartments verified the assignment of the protein CEST signals to the soluble part of the proteome. The results of in vitro experiments demonstrate that aggregation affects the CEST signals of proteins. This observation can enable hypotheses for CEST imaging as a non-invasive diagnostic tool for monitoring pathological alterations of the proteome in vivo.

The 9-deazaguanine N7-2'-deoxyribofuranoside (3) as well as the bromo and iodo derivatives 4a,b were synthesized and incorporated in oligonucleotide duplexes and triplexes. Their base pairing properties were investigated and compared with those of the parent purine N7-2'-deoxyribofuanosides.

A series of C5-substituted 1,2,4-triaryl-1H-imidazoles was synthesized. Their gene-activating properties were determined on estrogen receptor alpha positive MCF-7 breast cancer cells, stably transfected with the plasmid EREwtcluc (MCF-7-2a cells). The influence of 4-OH and 2-Cl substituents on the phenyl rings as well as the significance of a methyl, ethyl, or phenyl group at C5 on the estrogen receptor binding and the resulting gene activation in MCF-7-2a cells was studied. The alkyl and aryl groups at C5 of 1,2,4-tris(4-hydroxyphenyl)-1H-imidazole 1 increased the transactivation, while chlorine atoms on the phenyl rings diminished this effect. 5-Ethyl-1,2,4-tris(4-hydroxyphenyl)-1H-imidazole 9 was identified as the most active compound. Its excellent transcriptional activity did not only depend on the C5 ethyl group, but also on the three hydroxyl groups of the phenyl rings. Compounds (11-14) with a reduced number of hydroxyl groups displayed distinctly lower gene activation.

The 7-bromo- (4a) and 7-iodo- (4b) derivatives of 7-deaza-2'-deoxyxanthosine (5) are prepared. Furthermore, the building blocks 6-8 of 7-deaza-2'-deoxyxanthosine (5) are synthesized and tested for their usage in oligonucleotide synthesis.