1. Academic Validation
  2. Discovery of a highly selective BChE inhibitor with concomitant anti-neuroinflammatory activity for treating Alzheimer's disease

Discovery of a highly selective BChE inhibitor with concomitant anti-neuroinflammatory activity for treating Alzheimer's disease

  • Eur J Med Chem. 2025 Dec 5:299:118071. doi: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2025.118071.
Yarong Zhao 1 Kun Wu 1 Wei Luo 1 Yuting Zhao 1 Jing Zeng 1 Junbo Wu 2 Changlei Yang 1 Meiling Yang 3 Jia Liu 1 Zhengwen Lei 4 Xue Peng 5 Zhen Wang 6
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 School of Pharmaceutical Science, School of Basic Medicine, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China.
  • 2 Department of Colorectal Surgery, Affiliated Hengyang Hospital of Hunan Normal University & Hengyang Central Hospital, Hengyang, 421001, Hunan, China.
  • 3 Department of Oncology, The Affiliated Nanhua Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China.
  • 4 Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China. Electronic address: leizhengwen0803@163.com.
  • 5 School of Pharmaceutical Science, School of Basic Medicine, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China. Electronic address: pengxue@usc.edu.cn.
  • 6 School of Pharmaceutical Science, School of Basic Medicine, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China; Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China; Department of Oncology, The Affiliated Nanhua Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China; Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine Research, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, Qinghai, 810008, China; National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Birth Defect Research and Prevention Hunan Provincial Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Changsha, Hunan, 410008, China. Electronic address: zhenw@usc.edu.cn.
Abstract

Recently, butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) has emerged as a potential therapeutic target for advanced Alzheimer's disease (AD). Herein, 20 novel carbamate-based N-benzoyl tryptamine derivatives were designed and synthesized by integrating a BChE-targeting fragment with the original carrier scaffold, which possesses good anti-neuroinflammatory activity. Among them, N14 was proved to be the most potent and highly selective BChE Inhibitor [eqBChE IC50 = 18.00 ± 0.485 pM, selectivity index (SI) = 84,7252, hBChE IC50 = 1.50 ± 0.155 nM], which is 388 times greater than the BChE Inhibitor previously identified by our research group. Additionally, N14 showed superior neuroprotective effects against Aβ1-42-induced injury model and inhibitory effects on Aβ1-42 self-aggregation compared to rivastigmine. Moreover, N14 could significantly ameliorate scopolamine-induced cognition impairment. Notably, N14 exhibited a superior capacity in the regulation of BChE and acetylcholine levels in the mouse hippocampus compared to rivastigmine, indicating that a highly selective BChE Inhibitor possesses more pronounced efficacy to rectify cholinergic system dysfunction. Furthermore, N14 demonstrated a high safety profile, good pharmacokinetic properties and favorable BBB permeability in vivo. Especially, N14 had a 3-fold longer half-life T1/2 than the BChE Inhibitor developed by our group. Therefore, the highly selective BChE Inhibitor N14 is a promising multifunctional lead compound for treating AD.

Keywords

Alzheimer's disease; Carbamate; Highly selective BChE inhibitor; Neuroinflammatory.

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