Alzheimer9s disease (AD) chiefly characterizes a progressively neurodegenerative disorder of the brain, and eventually leads to irreversible loss of intellectual abilities. The β-amyloid (Aβ)-induced neurodegeneration is believed to be the main pathological mechanism of AD, and Aβ production inhibition or its clearance promotion is one of the promising therapeutic strategies for anti-AD research. Here, we report that the natural product arctigenin from Arctium lappa (L.) can both inhibit Aβ production by suppressing β-site amyloid precursor protein cleavage enzyme 1 expression and promote Aβ clearance by enhancing autophagy through AKT/mTOR signaling inhibition and AMPK/Raptor pathway activation as investigated in cells and APP/PS1 transgenic AD model mice. Moreover, the results showing that treatment of arctigenin in mice highly decreased Aβ formation and senile plaques and efficiently ameliorated AD mouse memory impairment strongly highlight the potential of arctigenin in anti-AD drug discovery.

A straightforward and general method has been developed for the synthesis of benzo[4,5]imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidine and [1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine derivatives by simply combining 2-aminobenzimidazole or 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole, aldehyde, and β-dicarbonyl compound in the presence of a catalytic amount of thiamine hydrochloride (VB₁). The advantages of this method are the use of an inexpensive and readily available catalyst, easy workup, improved yields, and the use of water as the solvent that is considered to be relatively environmentally benign.

J. Neurochem. (2010) 114, 374–385. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) characterizes a progressive neurodegenerative disorder of the brain, while AD patients are afflicted with irreversible loss of neurons and further the intellectual abilities including memory and reasoning. One of the typical hallmarks of AD is the deposition of senile plaque that is contributed mainly by amyloid‐β (Aβ), whose production is initiated by beta‐site amyloid precursor protein (APP)‐cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1). Inhibition of BACE1 is thereby regarded as an attractive strategy for anti‐AD drug discovery. Here, we reported that the natural product 2,2′,4′‐trihydroxychalcone (TDC) from Glycyrrhiza glabra functioned as a specific non‐competitive inhibitor against BACE1 enzyme, and potently repressed β‐cleavage of APP and production of Aβ in human embryo kidney cells‐APPswe cells. Moreover, the amelioration ability of this compound against the in vivo memory impairment was further evaluated by APP‐PS1 double transgenic mice model. It is discovered that treatment of 9 mg/kg/day of TDC could obviously decrease Aβ production and Aβ plaque formation, while efficiently improve the memory impairment based on Morris water maze test. Our findings thus demonstrated that the natural product TDC as a new BACE1 inhibitor could ameliorate memory impairment in mice, and is expected to be potentially used as a lead compound for further anti‐AD reagent development.

Nuclear receptors retinoic X receptor α (RXRα) and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ (PPARγ) function potently in metabolic diseases, and are both important targets for anti-diabetic drugs. Coactivation of RXRα and PPARγ is believed to synergize their effects on glucose and lipid metabolism. Here we identify the natural product magnolol as a dual agonist targeting both RXRα and PPARγ. Magnolol was previously reported to enhance adipocyte differentiation and glucose uptake, ameliorate blood glucose level and prevent development of diabetic nephropathy. Although magnolol can bind and activate both of these two nuclear receptors, the transactivation assays indicate that magnolol exhibits biased agonism on the transcription of PPAR-response element (PPRE) mediated by RXRα:PPARγ heterodimer, instead of RXR-response element (RXRE) mediated by RXRα:RXRα homodimer. To further elucidate the molecular basis for magnolol agonism, we determine both the co-crystal structures of RXRα and PPARγ ligand-binding domains (LBDs) with magnolol. Structural analyses reveal that magnolol adopts its two 5-allyl-2-hydroxyphenyl moieties occupying the acidic and hydrophobic cavities of RXRα L-shaped ligand-binding pocket, respectively. While, two magnolol molecules cooperatively accommodate into PPARγ Y-shaped ligand-binding pocket. Based on these two complex structures, the key interactions for magnolol activating RXRα and PPARγ are determined. As the first report on the dual agonist targeting RXRα and PPARγ with receptor-ligand complex structures, our results are thus expected to help inspect the potential pharmacological mechanism for magnolol functions, and supply useful hits for nuclear receptor multi-target ligand design.