Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a common chronic neurodegenerative disorders. Melatonin (MLT) has been reported to be neuroprotective agent, and its modified structures exhibit potent antioxidant and anti-inflammation activities. Therefore, the activity of MLT and its derivatives against AD was investigated. Herein, the targeted enzymes, such as β-secretase (BACE1) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE), as well as the neuroprotective and neuritogenic effects on P19-derived neurons were evaluated. All the derivatives (1–5), including MLT, displayed potent inhibitory activity for BACE1, with inhibition values of more than 75% at 5 µM. A molecular docking study predicted that MLT, 5-MT, and 5 bound with BACE1 at catalytic amino acids Asp32 and the flap region, whereas 1–4 interacted with allosteric residue Thr232 and the flap region. The additional π-π interactions between 2, 3, and 5 with Tyr71 promoted ligand-enzyme binding. In addition, MLT, 1, 3, and 5 significantly protected neuron cells from oxidative stress by increasing the cell viability to 97.95, 74.29, 70.80, and 69.50% at 1 nM, respectively. Moreover, these derivatives significantly induced neurite outgrowth by increasing the neurite length and number. The derivatives 1, 3, and 5 should be thoroughly studied as potential AD treatment and neuroprotective agents.

Highlights

  • Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, and the symptoms include loss of memory, difficulty dealing with problems, and disorientation regarding time and place [1]. the etiology of AD is unknown, several pathological hallmarks, such as oxidative stress, amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition, tau protein accumulation, and decreased levels of acetylcholine (ACh), show significant roles in the pathophysiology of this disease [2]

  • The evaluation of the effects on BACE1 activity revealed that MLT, 5-MT, and all derivatives (1–5)

  • All the derivatives had inhibitory activities more than 75%, and compound 1 was the most effective in this assay (Table 1)

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Summary

Introduction

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, and the symptoms include loss of memory, difficulty dealing with problems, and disorientation regarding time and place [1]. the etiology of AD is unknown, several pathological hallmarks, such as oxidative stress, amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition, tau protein accumulation, and decreased levels of acetylcholine (ACh), show significant roles in the pathophysiology of this disease [2]. The cholinergic hypothesis was the first theory proposed to explain AD. A decrease in cholinergic activity is usually observed in the brains of AD patients. Previous studies in both humans and primates have proposed a function of ACh in learning and memory [3,4]. This hypothesis has led to clinical studies uses a type of cholinergic agonist, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs), which exhibited promise in reversing memory loss in AD patients. The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has approved treatments

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