Pharmacological characterization of memoquin, a multi-target compound for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease

PLoS One. 2013;8(2):e56870. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0056870. Epub 2013 Feb 18.

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by progressive loss of cognitive function, dementia and altered behavior. Over 30 million people worldwide suffer from AD and available therapies are still palliative rather than curative. Recently, Memoquin (MQ), a quinone-bearing polyamine compound, has emerged as a promising anti-AD lead candidate, mainly thanks to its multi-target profile. MQ acts as an acetylcholinesterase and β-secretase-1 inhibitor, and also possesses anti-amyloid and anti-oxidant properties. Despite this potential interest, in vivo behavioral studies with MQ have been limited. Here, we report on in vivo studies with MQ (acute and sub-chronic treatments; 7-15 mg/kg per os) carried out using two different mouse models: i) scopolamine- and ii) beta-amyloid peptide- (Aβ-) induced amnesia. Several aspects related to memory were examined using the T-maze, the Morris water maze, the novel object recognition, and the passive avoidance tasks. At the dose of 15 mg/kg, MQ was able to rescue all tested aspects of cognitive impairment including spatial, episodic, aversive, short and long-term memory in both scopolamine- and Aβ-induced amnesia models. Furthermore, when tested in primary cortical neurons, MQ was able to fully prevent the Aβ-induced neurotoxicity mediated by oxidative stress. The results support the effectiveness of MQ as a cognitive enhancer, and highlight the value of a multi-target strategy to address the complex nature of cognitive dysfunction in AD.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alkanes / administration & dosage
  • Alkanes / adverse effects
  • Alkanes / pharmacology*
  • Alzheimer Disease / drug therapy*
  • Alzheimer Disease / physiopathology
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / administration & dosage
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / toxicity
  • Animals
  • Behavior, Animal / drug effects
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Ethylamines / administration & dosage
  • Ethylamines / adverse effects
  • Ethylamines / pharmacology*
  • Female
  • Male
  • Maze Learning / drug effects
  • Memory / drug effects
  • Mice
  • Motor Activity / drug effects
  • Neurons / drug effects
  • Neuroprotective Agents / administration & dosage
  • Neuroprotective Agents / adverse effects
  • Neuroprotective Agents / pharmacology*
  • Rats

Substances

  • Alkanes
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides
  • Ethylamines
  • Neuroprotective Agents
  • beta-amyloid peptide 1-42 (E22delta) click peptide
  • memoquin

Grants and funding

The study reported in this paper was funded by Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia. The founders have no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.