Synthesis of the Alzheimer Drug Posiphen into its Primary Metabolic Products (+)-N1-norPosiphen, (+)-N8-norPosiphen and (+)-N1, N8-bisnorPosiphen, their Inhibition of Amyloid Precursor Protein, α -Synuclein Synthesis, Interleukin-1β Release, and Cholinergic Action.

Title:Synthesis of the Alzheimer Drug Posiphen into its Primary Metabolic Products (+)-N1-norPosiphen, (+)-N8-norPosiphen and (+)-N1, N8-bisnorPosiphen, their Inhibition of Amyloid Precursor Protein, α -Synuclein Synthesis, Interleukin-1β Release, and Cholinergic Action.

Volume: 12 Issue: 2

Author(s): Qian-sheng Yu, Marcella Reale, Mohammad A. Kamal, Harold W. Holloway, Weiming Luo, Kumar Sambamurti, Balmiki Ray, Debomoy K. Lahiri, Jack T. Rogers and Nigel H. Greig

Affiliation:

Keywords: Acetylcholinesterase, Alzheimer disease, amyloid-β peptide (Aβ), amyloid-β precursor protein (APP), Posiphen, (+)-N1-norPosiphen, (+)-N8-norPosiphen, (+)-N1, N8-bisnorPosiphen, (-)-phenserine, α-synuclein, interleukin-1β, muscarinic receptor, nicotinic receptor, butyrylcholinesterase, Parkinson’s disease.

Abstract: A major pathological hallmark of Alzheimer disease (AD) is the appearance in the brain of senile plaques that are primarily composed of aggregated forms of β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) that derive from amyloid precursor protein (APP). Posiphen (1) tartrate is an experimental AD drug in current clinical trials that reduces Aβ levels by lowering the rate of APP synthesis without toxicity. To support the clinical development of Posiphen (1) and elucidate its efficacy, its three major metabolic products, (+)-N1-norPosiphen (15), (+)-N8-norPosiphen (17) and (+)-N1, N8-bisnorPosiphen (11), were required in high chemical and optical purity. The efficient transformation of Posiphen (1) into these metabolic products, 15, 17 and 11, is described. The biological activity of these metabolites together with Posiphen (1) and its enantiomer, the AD drug candidate (-)-phenserine (2), was assessed against APP,α-synuclein and classical cholinergic targets. All the compounds potently inhibited the generation of APP and α-synuclein in neuronal cultures. In contrast, metabolites 11 and 15, and (-)-phenserine (2) but not Posiphen (1) or 17, possessed acetyl cholinesterase inhibitory action and no compounds bound either nicotinic or muscarinic receptors. As Posiphen (1) lowered CSF markers of inflammation in a recent clinical trial, the actions of 1 and 2 on proinflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-1β release human peripheral blood mononuclear cells was evaluated, and found to be potently inhibited by both agents.

Cite this article as:

Yu Qian-sheng, Reale Marcella, A. Kamal Mohammad, W. Holloway Harold, Luo Weiming, Sambamurti Kumar, Ray Balmiki, K. Lahiri Debomoy, T. Rogers Jack and H. Greig Nigel, Synthesis of the Alzheimer Drug Posiphen into its Primary Metabolic Products (+)-N1-norPosiphen, (+)-N8-norPosiphen and (+)-N1, N8-bisnorPosiphen, their Inhibition of Amyloid Precursor Protein, α -Synuclein Synthesis, Interleukin-1β Release, and Cholinergic Action., Anti-Inflammatory & Anti-Allergy Agents in Medicinal Chemistry 2013; 12 (2) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1871523011312020003