A novel tacrine-dihydropyridine hybrid (-)SCR1693 induces tau dephosphorylation and inhibits Aβ generation in cells.
AChE inhibitors are the first choice for the treatment of Alzheimer׳s disease (AD), but they could only delay the progression of cognitive and behavioral dysfunction, and fail to reverse neuronal damage. Calcium channel blockers have been identified to have protective effect on neurons. Thus, therapy targeting both AChE and calcium channels is supposed to be more effective in AD treatment. In the present study, we explored the effect of a synthesized juxtaposition of an AChE inhibitor and a Calcium channel blocker (named (-)SCR1693) on tau phosphophorylation and Aβ generation. The results showed that: (1) Compared with higher concentrations, (-)SCR1693 incubation in low concentrations such as 0.4, 2, 4μM for 24h did not affect the cell viability of HEK293/tau (HEK293 cells stably transfected with human tau40) and N2a/APP (N2a cells stably transfected with human APP) cells; (2) long-term treatment of cells with (-)SCR1693 (0.4, 2, 5μM) (24h) induced tau dephosphorylation and reduced the total tau level in HEK293/tau cells. Short-term treatment (6h) also resulted in tau dephosphorylation, but did not reduce the total tau level; and (3) (-)SCR1693 (0.4, 2, 4μM) incubation inhibited Aβ generation and release dramatically in N2a/APP cells. We conclude that the novel tacrine-dihydropyridine hybrid (-)SCR1693 in low concentrations could reduce total and phosphorylated tau levels, inhibit the generation and release of Aβ in cells. Thus, (-)SCR1693 may be a potential candidate for effectively treating AD.
Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Education of China for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China; The Institute of Brain Research, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China; Department of Pathology, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China.
Xiu-Lian
XL
Wang
Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Education of China for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China; The Institute of Brain Research, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China; Wuhan University, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Institute of Hepatobiliary Diseases of Wuhan University, Hubei Key Laboratory of Medical Technology on Transplantation, Wuhan, China.
Yan
Y
Xiong
Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Education of China for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Yang
Y
Yang
Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Education of China for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Qing-Zhang
QZ
Tuo
Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Education of China for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Xiao-Chuan
XC
Wang
Jiangsu Simovay Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Nanjing, China.
Rong
R
Chen
Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Education of China for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Qing
Q
Tian
Jiangsu Simovay Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Nanjing, China.
Zheng-Ping
ZP
Zhang
Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Education of China for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Xiong
X
Yan
Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Education of China for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Zhang-Yuan
ZY
Yang
Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Education of China for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China. Electronic address: wangjz@mails.tjmu.edu.cn.
Jian-Zhi
JZ
Wang
Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Education of China for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China. Electronic address: rong.liu@hust.edu.cn.
Rong
R
Liu
D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006801:Humans; D018697:Nootropic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D010766:Phosphorylation / Q000187:drug effects; D013619:Tacrine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D018697:Nootropic Agents; C000600497:SCR1693; D016875:tau Proteins; D013619:Tacrine
AChE inhibitor; Alzheimer׳s disease; Aβ; Calcium channel blocker; Dual-target compound; Tau protein