Novel levetiracetam derivatives that are effective against the Alzheimer-like phenotype in mice: synthesis, in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo efficacy studies

I Sola, E Aso, D Frattini, I Lopez-Gonzalez… - Journal of medicinal …, 2015 - ACS Publications
I Sola, E Aso, D Frattini, I Lopez-Gonzalez, A Espargaro, R Sabate, O Di Pietro, FJ Luque
Journal of medicinal chemistry, 2015ACS Publications
We have synthesized a series of heptamethylene-linked levetiracetam–huprine and
levetiracetam–(6-chloro) tacrine hybrids to hit amyloid, tau, and cholinergic pathologies as
well as β-amyloid (Aβ)-induced epileptiform activity, some of the mechanisms that eventually
lead to cognitive deficits in Alzheimer's disease patients. These hybrids are potent inhibitors
of human acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase in vitro and moderately potent
Aβ42 and tau antiaggregating agents in a simple E. coli model of amyloid aggregation. Ex …
We have synthesized a series of heptamethylene-linked levetiracetam–huprine and levetiracetam–(6-chloro)tacrine hybrids to hit amyloid, tau, and cholinergic pathologies as well as β-amyloid (Aβ)-induced epileptiform activity, some of the mechanisms that eventually lead to cognitive deficits in Alzheimer’s disease patients. These hybrids are potent inhibitors of human acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase in vitro and moderately potent Aβ42 and tau antiaggregating agents in a simple E. coli model of amyloid aggregation. Ex vivo determination of the brain acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of these compounds after intraperitoneal injection to C57BL6J mice has demonstrated their ability to enter the brain. The levetiracetam–huprine hybrid 10 significantly reduced the incidence of epileptic seizures, cortical amyloid burden, and neuroinflammation in APP/PS1 mice after a 4-week treatment with a 5 mg/kg dose. Moreover, the hybrid 10 rescued transgenic mice from cognitive deficits, thereby emerging as an interesting disease-modifying anti-Alzheimer drug candidate.
ACS Publications